Every week, at least once–sometimes on multiple occasions–leaders are faced with a decision, in front of an open window of opportunity, to jump or stay in the room they’re in.
Windows of opportunity open up all the time in life. Great leaders (in business, at home, in communities) have spent painstaking time and energy promoting the right people to the right positions around them, people that aren’t just leaders, but who cover the leaders’ blind spots, see things she doesn’t see, and who are able to effectively corral people, information and experience together to proactively bring sound advice in their areas of giftings to the leader.
As a leader, however, at some point there’s a decision to make. Once you’ve counted the cost as best you can with the available information and advice you have, how much more information will you need before you jump through the window of opportunity?
Great leaders recognize 6 things:
1) When they jump, they have the burden and responsibility of pulling all those attached to them through the same window
2) They have become accustomed to recognizing windows in the first place
3) There’s never an unlimited amount of time to jump
4) They’re able to quickly assess whether there’s an opportunity for it to open again
5) Most windows aren’t high up enough to kill anyone from the fall; great leaders can decipher the very few that will
6) They’re at peace with the fact that they make the same amount of mistakes as non-leaders, they’re just willing to jump more
Great leaders understand the power of a moment, the “aha!”, the pivotal point in a meeting, conversation, or process where a window is open, and they typically jump where others stay in the same room and admire the view.
