The high cost of leadership

When you are a recognized leader of something, you can no longer be just a "Regular Joe." In the eyes of a lot of people, you can't just say whatever you want to say anymore. Everything that comes out of your mouth will be evaluated/criticized by somebody looking to you as a leader.

Just ask President Obama about this.

This past week, he chose to try to be just a "Regular Joe" on Jay Leno's show (why he would choose to do that as President of the United States is questionable?). Apparently, in the course of talking with Leno about living in the White House, the President was asked about the bowling lanes that are in the basement there? And Jay Leno asked him what his bowling score was? And Obama said he bowled something like a 129? As everyone in the audience started laughing at that pitiful score (?), the President made a very off-handed comment while laughing himself that went something like this, "Yeah, it was kind of like the Special Olympics."

Oops! Hey Mr. President, you can't say something like that now. You are the recognized leader of the United States of America. Everything you say and do is being filmed and recorded, and your life is now under a microscope. The whole world is watching! You can no longer be just a "Regular Joe" and make wise cracks like that.

Needless to say, President Obama had to quickly apologize to several people, not the least of which was the head of the Special Olympics program. And this all had to be done within hours of the gaffe, just to make it right with everyone and contain the damage caused by his words.

The high cost of leadership.

But, it's not just President Obama who has to watch what he says/does. If you are the recognized leader of something, you have to watch what you say and do, too. As much as you might want to just be a "Regular Joe," people will be evaluating (and possibly criticizing?) your every move.

I am always taken aback at my work when people say something to me that reveals that when they look at me and/or listen to what I have to say, they are thinking, "This is coming from a Senior Vice President and the Chair of the Design Council." Likewise, at my church the same thing happens and the words might be something like this, "These are the words/actions of a Life Group leader and elder of our church." Even at home, my family can sometimes be shocked when I laugh at something, enjoy a certain movie or say something that might be a little bit different than what they would normally expect from just plain ol' Dad. No more "Regular Joe" for this guy!

Am I complaining? No. Is it frustrating at times when people have much higher expectations of you than they should? Yes. Is it good to have high standards for the behavior of our leaders? Of course.

If you are a leader of something, you should set a higher bar for your behavior and be a better example of living than a lot of other people. But, leaders make mistakes and have feet of clay, too. Sometimes they are just "Regular Joe" people who have reluctantly stepped into visible leadership positions and are completely depending on the grace of God to carry them through (and not make too many mistakes!).

The high cost of leadership can be expensive for a "Regular Joe" like me.