The first episode of the Netflix documentary series The Playbook features basketball coach Doc Rivers, who led the Boston Celtics to a championship in 2008. Coaching one of the most storied franchises brought immense pressure to Rivers and his team. Rather than minimizing this weight, Rivers chose to highlight it. He literally placed a spotlight on an empty space in the rafters where a championship banner would hang if they won the NBA Finals. Regarding this mindset, Rivers explains: “I don’t think you should run from a legacy, or run from pressure, or run from expectations. I think you should run towards it.”
When it comes to developing as a leader, embracing pressure for leadership growth is a pursuit you should run toward, not from. In their book The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath offer similar encouragement based on research and interviews with psychologists. They argue that by placing yourself in high-pressure situations, you position yourself for either development or self-discovery. If you take on additional pressure, you will either develop new skills and thrive or discover that you are not suited for that particular path. Either scenario is a win: the pressure either sharpens your discipline or allows you to refocus your life on a different passion.
The reality is that pressure shapes leadership character, and understanding how to navigate it is critical for long-term success. Coach Rivers’ approach highlights that pressure, when acknowledged and confronted, serves as a powerful catalyst for growth rather than an obstacle to be avoided.
The Pressure Will Develop You.
Recently I was leading a session with some of our younger leaders on our team, and one of them asked what has been the biggest source of my development. I answered “seasons of being overwhelmed” and offered a few examples. When you are overwhelmed, you are forced to learn new skills that you will not learn until you have to learn them. From my perspective as a follower of Jesus, I also know this to be true. When you are overwhelmed, you are driven to a greater dependence on Jesus and an opportunity to see him do amazing things as he is attracted to our weakness and loves when we are in a posture of humble reliance on him.
Or the Pressure Will Refocus You.
There are times where a leader takes on a new responsibility or an additional discipline, and the pressure does not develop the leader. Instead the pressure causes the leader to realize, “I am not that passionate about this” or “I am not particularly gifted for this.” This is not a failure. This is great! Because now the leader can focus with more confidence on what he or she is most passionate about or gifted for.
The pressure is a win either way.
What is not a win is just existing and meandering and doing what you have always done because that is what you have always done. Sadly, that is what many people do. They miss out on being developed or on focusing with greater clarity on what they are most passionate about. The leaders who run toward pressure and not from pressure are the leaders who will enjoy development or refocus.
This article originally appeared on EricGeiger.com and is reposted here by permission.