Neil shook his head. “You’re doing it all wrong!”

Clint dropped his arms in exhaustion. “Neil, I’ve been trying for the past hour to do it like you’re saying. I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Of course, it’s possible,” Neil boasted. “When I was your age, that’s exactly how I did it.”

As “Big Clint” stood towering over Neil, he looked him up and down, skeptical of the significantly smaller, older man’s claim.

Clint, who recently graduated from college as a four-year starter on the football team, reexamined his monumental task. Remaining respectful of his supervisor, he said, “I know you’re adamant that it be done that way, but I’m just not tall enough or strong enough. I can’t seem to make it work. Can you demonstrate how to do it?”  

~~~~~~~~~~

The expectations leaders place on the less experienced can oftentimes feel unfair or even impossible.

Over time, life generously provides lots of bumps and bruises for leaders to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities to learn to lead well.

I don’t know about you, but it seems the older I get, the more impressive I used to be. My memory of awful decisions, ignorance, and inferior skills becomes cloudier with each passing day. It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when I didn’t even know how to feed myself or walk.