Don't quit leading.
That's the message of a new book written by a Blacksburg man who has spent nearly four decades in the radio business.
We sat down with Brian Sanders, the executive vice president of Spirit FM, to chat about his bestselling book.
Nowadays, Sanders doesn't spend his time behind a radio microphone. He leads those familiar voices we often hear in the car.
“I cast the vision. This is the mountain. This is where we want to go. What do you need to get there? And then I get out of the way. I cheer the team and then I equip the team,” Sanders said.
He said it took a long time to make it to the point of being chief decision-maker for five radio stations.
In Sanders' 36 years in the business, he said, he's learned a lot, led a lot and recently wrote a book along the way.
“Everybody wants the success, but nobody wants to endure to reach that success and that's one of the things out of the book: If you want to be a success, you have to be willing to pay the price to be that success,” said Sanders.
Persevering through the struggles is exactly what Sanders' new book is about. It's called "Leadership Endurance." It looks at four well-known leaders -- Lincoln, FDR, Grant and Churchill -- and how they made it through difficult seasons.
“There are a million books about leadership. We don't need one more. This is about endurance, how to last as a leader,” Sanders said.
He said it's common for anyone managing others to want to quit in the middle.
“The book isn't just for leaders. It's for anybody who has found themselves stuck in this rut,” he said.
Whether you're leading a team of radio professionals or a rowdy group of kids, he said to keep moving toward the goal.
If you would like to hear Sanders speak about enduring leadership struggles click here for information on a breakfast at which he will be speaking.