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Leadership is often portrayed as a straight path toward a clear destination. In reality, it rarely works that way. Every city manager, department director, supervisor, and frontline employee eventually encounters obstacles that seem to block progress. Budgets get cut. Projects stall. Relationships become strained. Plans that looked certain suddenly unravel.
In this episode of Grow Great, Lisa Norris and I explore a powerful idea: sometimes the obstacle isn’t standing in the way—it is the way. The very challenge you’re facing may be redirecting you toward a better solution, a stronger team, or a deeper understanding of what matters most. Obstacles force us to slow down, reconsider assumptions, seek new perspectives, and develop resilience that comfort never produces. While nobody welcomes difficulty, the leaders who grow the most are often those who learn to view setbacks not as punishment, but as opportunities for redirection and growth. Sometimes the gift isn’t avoiding the obstacle. Sometimes the gift is what the obstacle teaches us along the journey.
Be well. Do good. Grow great!
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About the hosts: Randy Cantrell brings over 4 decades of experience as a business leader and organization builder. Lisa Norris brings almost 3 decades of experience in HR and all things "people." Their shared passion for leadership and developing high-performing cultures provoked them to focus the Grow Great podcast on city government leadership.
The work is about achieving unprecedented success through accelerated learning in helping leaders and executives "figure it out."