Leadership of anything (school, church, business, sports team, newsroom) is fraught with possibility and with challenge. The wiser leader expects:

1. Sabotage from areas where it is least predictable or expected.
2. Chaos in at least a few, or even in many, areas of the organization.
3. Trails that sometimes lead to no useful destination.
4. Trials that waste time, energy, and other resources.
5. Seduction into focusing on the irrelevant as the irrelevant stubbornly vies for recognition while giving the appearance of utmost importance.
6. Seduction into the illusion of total control.
7. Approximation of what is possible and viable in exchange for expecting perfection.
8. Power to be shared, offered, that true serendipity and creativity may occur.
9. Transmission of his or her personal, domestic, or moral struggles to emerge in the life of the people who serve the organization.
10. To resist the natural push from within the organization to be all consuming of the leader’s time, talent, and resources.