I recently read that we experience more change in one year than our grandparents experienced in their entire lives.
The pace of change is definitely accelerating, at least from where I’m sitting. And it seems that we’re all going through something, whether it’s recovering after a devastating hurricane or another natural disaster, the pandemic, inflation and the threat of a recession, labor shortage, supply chain issues, or (insert your current challenge here).
While you can’t control these “storms,” you can use the greatest power you possess to navigate the storms of life… You can use your power to choose.
As a leader, your team is looking to you to model the way.
Here are 3 powerful choices you can make:
1) Choose to be intentional. I know this sounds a little redundant. But especially in stressful times, we may all tend to rely on a default method of operating. And your default method might be a little like playing whack-a-mole, where you go from one issue to the next trying to smack down problems that pop up with no warning.
This approach to leadership is exhausting; it leads to frustration and burnout.
The fact is you have a lot more agency and choice in how you live and lead than you probably realize. You have the POWER to DESIGN your leadership and your life to have a positive and lasting impact on all those around you. It’s time to step back and decide what kind of leader you want to be.
Set your intention at the start of the day and then commit to sticking to it. Louise Hay said “How you start your day is how you live your day. How you live your day is how you live your life.”
Put another way, the days are long and the years are short. Choose to live your days and therefore, your life intentionally. (Warning: For your own safety never spout that quote to parents of toddlers, for they may want to punch you in the throat. I’ve learned the hard way.)
2) Choose your lens. How you think impacts how you feel. How you feel impacts how you behave. How you behave and the action you take impact your results. So let me ask you: How would you describe your thinking? Is it what motivational speaker Zig Ziglar called “stinking thinking” or what I call “thoughtful thinking”?
You get to choose how you look at this experience. If the lens you look through is negative, defeatist, and victim-oriented, you’ll see all this disruption as yet another example that you can never catch a break. If, on the other hand, you look at this through the lens of growth and opportunity, then that is exactly what you’ll see. So which lens will you choose to look through?
3) Choose to take ownership. When you take ownership, you literally think like you’re the owner of the company. You don’t wait for someone to “empower” you. (To say that seems to imply that power is something that I can convey or bestow upon someone else.)
Sure, you can be timid and afraid and just wait for someone to give you permission, OR you can acknowledge that YOU are who you’ve been waiting for.
You can step up and take responsibility regardless of your position or title. Being a leader actually isn’t about a title or position or role. It’s more about Influence.
Remember, what you’re not changing, you’re choosing. (Ouch. I know that hurt. Sorry, not sorry.)
You can also choose to take ownership in how you communicate and the energy with which you engage with others. You know, we all hear so much about the importance of leadership communication – and believe me, I do a LOT of coaching and teaching around leadership communication. It’s important. No doubt about it.
Really, it’s not so much what we say or do, but it’s the ENERGY we bring to the situation that makes the biggest difference. (If you doubt me on this, just call to mind Ben Stein as the teacher in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I know, Right?)
Listen, ya’ll, I know you’re going through some tuff stuff. And I’m not trying to sprinkle pixie dust and toxic positivity on you. But I do know this:
First, we make our choices and then our choices make us.
As a leader, your team needs you to choose wisely.
I’ll be your guide on the side to help you THRIVE through these unchartered territories rather than just survive. Schedule a complimentary discovery call here: https://calendly.com/jennifer-ledet
You might also like:
The Best-Kept Secret of High-Performing Teams
Lead Yourself and Your Team Out of the Land of Stuck
Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication. In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.