I have a confession to make.  I write about leadership and I conduct training on leadership, but sometimes I wonder why anyone would want to be a leader.

There are so many hassles and difficulties that come your way.  Day after day, problem after problem.  It can seem a lot easier to let someone else deal with the headaches.

But then I remember there are some magnificent things about being a leader.  Here’s my short list:

It makes you see beyond yourself.  You are no longer responsible for only your career.  Like a new parent, your mind suddenly sees the world in a new and expanded way.

It forces you to think strategically.  Other people are depending on you, so you better have a plan.  And a good one.

It gives you an opportunity to help people thrive, both in the short and long term.  A good leader shines a light down the path of the future and helps people along the journey.

It affords you the opportunity to broaden your horizons by getting to know and understand a diverse group of people.  Lead enough people and you will eventually come across someone very different from you.  The world might look unfamiliar when you view it through their eyes.

Positively influencing someone who goes on to have a great career and thinking “I knew them when”.  I can think of people I led that struggled mightily early on.  Other managers wanted to send them packing and get rid of the “problem”.  But I could see potential, so I worked with them step by step, issue by issue.  It was frustrating at times, but today it’s a source of pride for me to see them be successful.

It requires organization and time management skills that can help you in every phase of your life. Good leaders have a lot to do, so they must find ways to streamline their habits and tactics for maximum efficiency.  Adapt or perish.

You learn how to show confidence even when you’re not feeling it.  Leaders don’t have the luxury of broadcasting insecurity or doubt.  They have to lead the way with positivity and confidence.  Some call this “fake it ’til you make it”.  I call it “be it so they can see it”.

Building relationships that defy position and organizational charts.  The gift of leadership enables you to build lateral, upward, and downward relationships.  These connections will enhance your day to day experience, both in the short and long term.

To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace – Doug Conant

Creating a culture and watching it bloom.   New leaders frequently inherit less than ideal cultures.  Like a football coach taking over a losing team, leaders have the opportunity to take something that was broken and make it greater than it ever was before.  Pro tip:  You can do this even if you are the one who broke it (but you better start now).

If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less – General Eric Shinseki

Learning to get comfortable with discomfort and change. Leaders have to banish the six deadliest words in business from their vocabulary.  Change is coming, and people will watch their leader for cues on how to respond to it.  A healthy appreciation of positive change will prevent you from becoming obsolete, and it will also ensure that your responsibilites remain challenging and interesting.

Taking on the responsibility of leadership will always be demanding.  There will be tough days.  But for me, the payoff makes it worth the effort.  What do you think?