Posted on Apr 3, 2013

The Value of Diligence in Leadership

The value of diligence means persevering determination to perform a task; conscientiousness.

Leadership Questions:

Do you understand ‘why’ you are doing what you are doing?
Who will ultimately benefit from what you’re doing, once your task is completed?
Think of your desired outcome. How can you regularly remind yourself of this?
What system could you put in place that would help you get a big task completed, one small step at a time?

Building a Discipline of Diligence

Leaders can often see their vision so well that they can almost taste it. They know that diligence is required to turn their vision into reality. But it’s generally not in a leader’s nature to be diligent. Why? Leaders are naturally impatient.

So instead of focusing on diligence, leaders tend to focus on discipline. It’s how they structure their lives. If they follow a routine or create systems and apply their energy to specific tasks on a daily basis, they know they will eventually bring their vision into being.

John Maxwell writes: “Self-Discipline is the ability to do what is right even when you don’t feel like doing it.” Leaders build discipline into their lives because it promotes diligence.

This is also how leaders help others experience the benefits of diligence. They encourage the use of discipline. Consider the following:

Parents. They build a discipline of diligence to help their kids get to school on time every morning – cleaned, dressed, fed, school supplies packed up, and even providing something for lunch.
Fundraisers. They build a discipline of diligence to help charities prepare for annual fundraising events – signing up sponsors, engaging volunteers, producing promotional pieces, organizing fun activities, and creating a buzz amongst those who care.
Entrepreneurs. They build a discipline of diligence to turn an idea into a multi-million dollar enterprise – raising necessary capital, working 16 hours a day for little pay, hiring capable and willing people, and promoting their idea to everyone and anyone who will listen.

If it wasn’t for the diligence of parents, fundraisers, and entrepreneurs:

We’d have few kids prepared for the world, once grown up.
We’d have few charities funded to fulfill their mission.
We’d have few employers hiring people, plus a poor economy.

We need more leaders like these, who build a discipline of diligence. As the English writer Samuel Johnson stated: “Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.”