There is a ship sailing on the high seas. The guy in the crows nest says "Captain, Captain, we're about to be boarded by a pirate ship"
To which the Captain replies "First Mate, get me my red shirt"
The first mate gets him his red shirt, he puts it on and - together with the rest of the crew - they fight off the pirates. Life goes back to normal.
The next day, the guy in the crows nest shouts down "Captain, Captain, there are TWO pirate ships about to board us."
To which the Captain replies: "First Mate, get me my red shirt"
The first mate gets him his red shirt, he puts it on and - together with the rest of the crew - they fight off the pirates. Life goes back to normal.
Third day - and I feel you're sensing that this ship was sailing in bad waters - the guy in the crows nest shouts "There are 3 pirate ships, about to board us"
To which the Captain replies: "First Mate, get me my red shirt"
The first mate gets him his red shirt, he puts it on and - together with the rest of the crew - they fight off the pirates. Life goes back to normal.
This goes on for a few more days, and each day they repel more pirates.
After a week, the (wounded) First Mate asks the Captain: "Why do you always ask for your red shirt?"
To which the Captain replies...
"My primary job as your Captain is to maintain morale. I wear a red shirt so that - if I get wounded whilst fighting, and start bleeding, the crew won't see my injuries. You'll carry on fighting, which this gives us the greatest chance of success."
The First Mate is suitably impressed by this...
The Next Day, the guy in the Crows Nest shouts "Captain, Captain, there are 20 pirate ships about to board us!"
To which the Captain replies "First Mate, get me my brown pants."
Captain - how does this relate to you?
In every phase of life; in every role; there are elements of leadership. Somedays, you're the Captain, somedays you're the First Mate, somedays you're in the Crows Nest.
And many days, you'll be (rightfully) worried about the environment.
True leaders sometimes wear red shirts. And they often wear brown pants.
A Personal Anecdote
Years ago, I worked with a great developer. He built excellent systems for our customers. Yet - when the customer said to him "Should we go live?" - he would be see all the flaws in the system, and convince them to delay a go live.
In this instance, I needed to wear brown pants... My advice to him? "Stand at the end of the precipice. Now.. take a deep breath... and jump."
"Don't let perfect be the enemy of good"
— Voltaire