Life is full of dichotomies.

I say this not solely because dichotomy happens to be one of my favorite words but also because I’m currently reading the book “The Dichotomy of Leadership” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.

I’ve read a lot of books on leadership, but few have clearly identified principles that are so widely applicable and have such a noticeable impact on leadership as a whole.

Finding a balance between the various dichotomies in leadership is in this case, the underlying principle I want to highlight.

Leadership is a constant battle between two sometimes seemingly opposing sides. For example, taking ownership for those under your jurisdiction and also empowering those same people to take responsibility for their own actions, being a leader and a follower, being confident but not cocky, aggressive but still cautious, bold but thoughtful, quick on your feet but not hasty.

Achieving a balance between each of the many dichotomies of leadership is an incredibly difficult task

That is leadership.

Understanding the qualities of good leaders uniquely showcases qualities of underlying Biblical principles and heroes. 

I feel like the Biblical figure Jesus, faced the ultimate dichotomy: to be among people, pour his life, teaching, knowledge, time, resource into them develop friends and disciples, and then lead those men, on a path of burden, hardship, difficulty, and challenges. In the Biblical recalling, even Jesus’ own family was not exempt from these challenges.

Additionally, God is willing to do everything for us, send his son, die on the cross, but yet he can not make the choices for us to accept that gift.

Whether christianity serves as the foundation for your world view or not, there are principles and parallels between the two that are interesting to observe.