Lead Anyway.

As my beloved Carolina Gamecocks baseball team went into extra innings late last night in the College World Series Finals, the ESPN announcers began talking about the adversity the Gamecocks had faced during the season. Each game, Coach Ray Tanner told his team, "Win anyway."

There's bad weather. Win anyway.

Our best player is hurt. Win anyway.

They are better than us. Win anyway.

No excuses; win anyway.

While winning isn't everything, the same concept applies to leadership. It's easy to come up with excuses as to why now isn't the right time to take on a leadership role. I'm too busy. I'm tired. She doesn't like me. He doesn't take me seriously.

Lead anyway.

Too often we let our excuses stand in the way of letting us really shine. It is easier to shift the responsibility to someone or something else, instead of claiming ownership on our actions and being true to ourselves.

When doubt creeps in, lead anyway. When you think you can't, lead anyway. When times get tough or the pitches don't go your way, step up to the plate and lead anyway.