Tenacity: The Leadership Essential that does not flinch
- James Rule
- Jun 20
- 2 min read
In leadership, the challenges rarely arrive with warning signs. Some days, it's market shifts. Others, it's staffing issues, spiralling deadlines, or sheer emotional exhaustion. On those days, the difference between leaders who keep going and those who quietly fold isn't talent, vision, or charisma. It’s tenacity. The ability to keep showing up. To find traction in chaos. To inspire by example, even when the odds aren’t in your favour.
Tenacity is often misunderstood as brute persistence, a kind of teeth gritted refusal to quit. The reality in my experience is that real tenacity is far more disciplined and composed.
It’s about how you respond when the path ahead becomes unclear. It’s about refusing to lower your standards just because circumstances have changed. And most importantly, it’s about showing your team what resilience really looks like.
As I said in last week’s episode of The Lonely Leader Podcast (links below) tenacity isn’t a last resort. It’s a leadership essential.
Churchill & Lincoln: Two titans of tenacity.
Winston Churchill inspired a war-weary nation to hold on and stay the course. His speeches didn’t just inform, they ignited. He showed up, day after day, in the fog of global conflict, and offered one unwavering message: “We shall never surrender.”
Abraham Lincoln, meanwhile, led a fractured nation through civil war and t eh abolition of slavery. He faced constant public criticism, military losses, and internal doubts. Yet he never swerved from the course he believed was right. His moral clarity and resilience left a powerful legacy.
What do both men teach us? That true leadership isn’t proven when times are easy. It’s proven when the world starts pulling you in a dozen directions and you still move forward.
What tenacity looks like in everyday leadership.
You don’t have to lead a nation to demonstrate tenacity. Here’s how it shows up every day in the actions of leaders:
Holding your vision when short-term pressures tempt you to compromise.
Staying calm when your team is overwhelmed.
Leading with energy even when your energy tank is running low.
Showing up on the hard days, not just the good ones.
Eight tips to build tenacity into your leadership.
You’ll find the full discussion of these tips in the The Lonely Leader Podcast via the below links.
The leaders we remember aren’t the ones who had perfect plans. They’re the ones who kept going, even when the plans went sideways. Tenacity is your anchor. Your engine. Your quiet commitment to keep showing up. I hope you find these tips helpful and that you can use them to enhance your tenacity and leadership impact!
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