How Struggle Build Great Leaders with Jan Rutherford

In this powerful episode of “Show Your Value,” I had the privilege of sitting down with Jan Rutherford, the founder of Self-Reliant Leadership and a former Green Beret, to explore the deep connection between self-reliance, leadership, and personal fulfillment. Jan’s journey from a 17-year-old entering Special Forces to becoming a seasoned business executive is a testament to the transformative power of overcoming adversity. There are some big lessons in the conversation that will add a lot of value to your life, be it personal or business.

3 Big Lessons:

1. Self-Reliance is the Foundation of Leadership: One of the most impactful insights Jan shared is that leadership truly starts with self-reliance. As he put it, “If you’re not squared away if you’re not self-reliant, you are reliant on other people. And I always say that if you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead others, you can’t lead organizations.”
2. Finding Purpose and Meaning is Essential: Jan emphasized the responsibility leaders have to help others find purpose in their work and to discover it for themselves. Leaders and CEO’s have an obligation to help their team and those around them find purpose and meaning in what they do.
3. Adversity Builds Character and Resilience: Through our discussion, it became clear that struggles and challenges are not only unavoidable but essential in shaping effective leaders. Adversity and discipline shape us, and the more shaped we are, the more value we can add to the world.

Quotes from Jan:

“If you’re not squared away, if you’re not self-reliant, you are reliant on other people. And I always say that if you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead others, you can’t lead organizations.”

“Leaders have an obligation to help people find purpose and meaning in what they do, no matter what it is. And we have an obligation ourselves to find purpose and meaning in what we do.”

“Adversity and the gift of struggle are really important parts of building and growing character. You learn more from your failures than your successes.”

This conversation with Jan will challenge your views on leadership and inspire you to create more value in every aspect of your life. Ready to become a leader people look up to? Then you won’t want
to miss this episode!

Please subscribe and leave a review to let us know how this episode impacted you!