What My Jiu-Jitsu Injury Taught Me About Leadership Pain

Leading well often means leading through pain. The more challenging or painful a situation becomes, the harder it can be to lead strong.

So how can we lead at a high level when going through leadership pain?

The idea for this blog post came from a recent Jiu-Jitsu injury. Throughout my injury, surgery, and recovery, I realized that the process of healing from physical pain is very similar to the process of healing from leadership pain.

I found there are four steps we all must take to lead through physical and leadership pain well:

1. Acknowledge what the problem actually is.

Many of us could solve more problems (and avoid more pain) if we weren’t so busy denying them.

With my Jiu-Jitsu injury, I was in denial for two months before going to see a doctor. When I finally did go, I had surgery and started the healing process in less than 48 hours.

I needed to admit there was a problem first and get an accurate diagnosis before I could start to heal.

With leadership pain, if we don’t fully and accurately diagnose the problem, we risk only treating the symptom and making things worse.

Often, the symptoms you see and the actual problem are very different things.

So if you’re hurting, stop living in denial and admit it. Then, look for the root cause of your pain.

2. Treat the problem.

I have to warn you that, just like a physical injury, treatment of a leadership injury will be expensive, disruptive, and painful, and it will often take longer than anticipated.

This can cause leaders to avoid problems they know exist but don’t want to deal with right now.

Here’s the hard reality: The difference between where you are and where you could be is likely the pain you’re unwilling to endure.

So endure the pain.

Have the hard conversation, cut the project that is losing money, confront the toxic culture, and do what you need to do to treat the underlying cause of your pain.

3. Rehabilitate toward healing.

After treating the problem, there will likely be a season of rehabilitation.

You have to lead your team to a new normal where you’ve removed the tendencies and behaviors that led to the problem in the first place.

The goal is to retrain your team toward healthy practices. Help them create healthy systems, communication styles, and thought patterns.

This season of rehabilitation will likely be painful, because growth and comfort never coexist.

4. Identify whether you are the problem.

For months, I was the problem with my Jiu-Jitsu injury. I refused to accept the seriousness of my injury, and in doing so, I became the cap to my training.

When you lead a growing organization, you will hit personal leadership ceilings; when you don’t grow through those ceilings, you become the problem.

And because of your proximity to the problem, you often lose objectivity. This is why it’s often wise to get outside help to diagnose what the problem really is. Here are some ways to do this:

• Ask your leader.
• Process with a mentor.
• Share the situation with a teammate in a different department.
• Ask yourself, “If someone were to replace me in this role, what is the first thing they would change in this situation?”

Adding a different perspective will help you come to an objective diagnosis and set you on the path toward healing.

Want to avoid pain tomorrow? Think Ahead today.

Avoid pain tomorrow by making wise decisions today with my newest book, Think Ahead: 7 Decisions You Can Make Today for the God-Honoring Life You Want Tomorrow.

It’s time to start experiencing the joy and freedom God has for you! It’s time to Think Ahead.