Why True Leadership Is Harder Than Doing the Work of 10 People (And Why You Should Do It Anyway)

Leadership books are everywhere. Most of them gather dust on shelves. But every once in a while, you read something that doesn’t just inform you—it confronts you. Developing the Leader Within You is one of those books, and this morning, it had some things to say that I couldn’t ignore.

Leaders Without Limitations

“The one who influences others to follow is only a leader with certain limitations. The one who influences others to lead others is a leader without limitations.”

This was the first nugget that punched me in the eyeballs when I woke up this morning:

For me, this line really clarifies the heart and soul of true leadership.

It’s not just influencing someone to buy a product or join a business.

It’s not just influencing someone to be a brand advocate or champion of your company.

True leadership is empowering people to step into their own greatness so they can shine their light as far and as wide as possible—and the shadow you cast, may not even be visible.

Now, this is a very grand and inspiring idea. But when you begin to think about how to actually do this, the rubber meets the road, and you realize what a challenge it is.

The Training Paradox

“It is better to train 10 people to work than to do the work of 10 people, but it is harder.”

Oh my gosh. Think about how funny that is for a second. It’s easier to do the work of 10 people yourself than to teach 10 people how to do the work.

Anyone who’s tried to get others to do things knows the truth of this—especially parents with kids.

• Is it worth the fight?
• Is it worth the complaints?
• Is it worth having the job take longer or having the job not done right?

All of these questions cause the go-getter to just say to themselves, “I’ll just do it myself.”

And now we know why: because it’s easier.

The problem, though, is that doing it yourself does not empower others to make the difference that they too can make.

“The man who goes alone can start the day, but he who travels with another must wait until the other is ready.”

Successful people have a get-it-done, get-it-done, get-it-done mentality—and patience is difficult.

Honestly, I don’t know what to do about this because I’m still of the opinion that if a job needs doing, the most important aspect is that it gets done.

So I’m not convinced that we should sit around waiting for others to finally be ready to do stuff for the stuff to get done.

Maybe the trick is to lead by example as much as you possibly can. And as other people show up to help—as long as they have a positive attitude and are truly invested in the vision—then and only then do we decide to slow down and invest the time for one-on-one development.

And that just means we have to be discerning when it comes to understanding people and their various attributes.

Who Deserves Your Time?

“Love everyone, but give yourself to the top 20% in your organization. Encourage the many; mentor the few.”

Of course, that raises another question: Who are the top 20%? In a home business, you have people that produce a lot of sales but are not necessarily invested in the vision or the culture.

You also have up-and-coming leaders who perhaps have produced fewer sales but are more fully invested in the vision and the culture and are taking massive action.

Who qualifies to be in your top 20%?

Honestly, for years and years I haven’t even seperated people into 20%, 80% categories.

I try to look at everyone as equally valuable and treat everyone equally well.

That being said, I’ve felt the crunch on my time as more and more people seem to want it and it’s forced me to confront this idea.

If you do start sorting people into these buckets, I think an easy mistake to make would be to assume that production alone = top category qualification.

What if your top 20% aren’t necessarily your top producers. 🤔

What if the most impactful, long term partnerships you’ll have are people who may not have the biggest numbers today, but due to their hunger and humility, will tomorrow?

Look, I’m still wrestling with some of these ideas. The tension between ‘just get it done’ and ‘take time to develop others’ doesn’t resolve neatly. But I think that tension is where real leadership lives—in the messy middle between efficiency and empowerment.

What do you think? How do you decide who to spend time with? Would love to hear your thoughts below.

Unfortunately, identifying who to invest in is only half the battle. The other half is understanding how to actually influence them—which brings us to…

The Greatest Motivational Principle in the World

If there’s one recurring idea that appears in nearly every chapter of this book, it’s this:

“People do what people see.”

Your example is the foundation of your leadership house, full stop.

“People’s minds are changed more through observation than through arguments.”

If you want to motivate others, inspire them to action, change minds and help cultivate see a better view of the world,

…live in such a way that you become a poster hanging inside the theater of their minds when they close their eyes.

Do More, Talk Less: A Case Study

When Tesla faced bankruptcy in 2017, Elon Musk didn’t send motivational emails or hold inspiring meetings about the importance of hitting production targets.

He moved into the factory.

He slept in a sleeping bag on the floor beneath the Model 3 production line.

He worked 120-hour weeks troubleshooting issues at 3 AM alongside line workers.

He wore the same clothes for days. He skipped showers and meals. He was visibly exhausted but kept showing up.

Musk didn’t ask his employees to do anything he wasn’t willing to do himself.

And when thousands of Tesla workers saw their CEO literally living under their workstations—not in an executive office, not working from home, but right there on the factory floor—many voluntarily matched his intensity.

They didn’t need to be convinced with arguments about the company’s mission or speeches about the importance of electric vehicles.

They saw what true commitment looked like, and they followed.

Tesla went from producing 2,000 cars per week to 5,000 cars per week. The company survived. And it happened because Musk became the poster hanging in the theater of his employees’ minds.

He did more. He talked less. And people followed.

John Maxwell quotes a study from Stanford research that says 89% of what we learn is visual, 10% of what we learn is auditory, and 1% of what we learn is through the other senses.

If you want to lead, burn this sentence in your mind:

“People do what people see.”

What kind of picture are you giving them to look at?

Leadership Is Your Attitude on Display

There are many things we could talk about in terms of what kind of picture we should give others to model as leaders.

Action, of course, has already been discussed.

The one I want to focus on in this post is attitude and how it relates to the way we impact those we are striving to lead.

I was at an event one time and had the chance to learn from one of the top online marketers in the world.

I remember how forceful he was when he delivered the following lesson:

“One bad apple spoils the whole barrel.”

He went on to elaborate how negativity has zero tolerance in his organization.

If someone is spreading negativity—blaming, complaining, excuse-making, etc.—they are out with no second chances.

That’s how seriously he takes this aspect of leadership.

Life has its ups and downs & expecting leaders to be constantly 100% positive, 24/7 is not realistic.

I can be negative sometimes—it’s human nature and part of life.

But here’s a key insight: Being negative, or experiencing frustration is not the same as broadcasting that negativity or frustration to others within the organization.

Here’s what demands from us:

Don’t let your periodic down times or frustrations contaminate those looking to you for leadership.

If you’re feeling negative or not fully satisfied with a situation, those feelings, thoughts, and words should either be kept to ourselves or discussed with those who are leading us—not with those who are looking to us for leadership.

If you think about your leadership as a sun rising into the sky, giving light to the people on the earth below, it’s easy to realize that people look to us for light, warmth, direction, clarity, and faith to walk the path because the light makes that path visible.

The worst thing we can do as leaders is cast darkness or sow confusion in the minds of those we serve.

“Good news goes down, bad news goes up.”

Faith, excitement, and positivity go down to the people looking to us for leadership, and anything else goes up to the people we look to for leadership.

Of course, there are exceptions to rules, and there may be rare times when you need to completely break ranks.

I recall one time when a company I was building made a huge strategic error that began to destroy our incomes.

My sponsor and I got on a conference call and, in tears, apologized to our teams and basically acknowledged that the ship was sinking.

Times like this, however, are rare.

In the vast majority of cases, leaders strive to shine light for others, always.

Yes, this means even when we’re not feeling fully enlightened ourselves. 🙂

Easy?

Perhaps not.

An essential element of great leadership?

I think so.

So here’s my challenge to you:

Before your mouth opens, or your fingers hit the keyboard today —ask yourself one question:

What am I showing them?

Because leadership isn’t what you say to your team, it’s what you’re showing them.

It’s what you do at 5 AM when no one’s watching. It’s the decision you make to show up with a smile even when you’re exhausted.

It’s the attitude you carry when the numbers are down and the pressure is up.

The people you’re meant to lead are watching.

Not just listening—watching.

They’re watching to see if you’ll do what you said you’d do. They’re watching to see if your actions match your words. They’re watching to see if you’ll stay positive when things get hard, or if you’ll spread the negativity that kills dreams faster than any market condition ever could.

And here’s the truth that both terrifies and excites me:

You’re already leading someone.

Maybe it’s your team. Maybe it’s your kids. Maybe it’s just one person who’s quietly observing how you handle adversity, how you treat people, how you show up when it matters.

You don’t get to choose whether you’re a leader. You only get to choose what kind of leader you’ll be.

So be the poster on the wall of their minds. Be the one who shows them what’s possible. Be the light when everything else feels dark.

Not because it’s easy.

But because someone needs to see it done before they’ll believe they can do it too.

And that someone is waiting for you to show them the way.

Thanks for reading,

PS: Whatchya think? Would love to hear your thoughts below.