Last week, I spent part of my day fixing a toilet. It’s not exactly how I expected to spend my time. By the end of the week, I’d also dealt with a flooring issue, a creaky window, and an issue with my car. None of these challenges had even been on my radar when the week began. And, I sure had no idea earlier how to solve any of these issues.

But that's often how life works.

Challenges rarely arrive with advance notice. They show up unexpectedly, interrupt our plans, demand our attention, and ask us to adapt in real time.

As I reflected on the week, it struck me how similar this is to leadership.