Two years ago, we were headed to visit college campuses for my then junior in high school.  Forty-eight hours before we left, the campuses shut down.  We diverted to the beach to stave off the inevitable. Then everything changed. 

This Week’s Edition

It’s time for a new era. One of risk taking. But what is risk really?  The best bet you can make is to bet on yourself. It’s a bet you will never lose. 

Clarify Your Thinking

Upon our return from the spring break beach, we had twenty-four hours to prepare for something new – a quarantine lockdown. Karen readied the kids for online school, and I bought an additional bike, converted the garage to a fitness center and attempted to find toilet paper.  

Since then, it seems as if everything has changed. And twenty-four months later, its time, again, for all of us to start something new – a new era of leadership for ourselves and our businesses. 

It’s time to step out from under the dark cloud and let today be the marker in the history of your leadership life where you declare the pandemic era is over.  March 31st is the end of the quarter and a perfect opportunity to start something new.

Yet, with most things, it’s one thing to want to do something new, and it’s another thing to believe or think that you can. Most among us are exhausted and running on empty. This depleted state often makes leaders skeptical, overly risk averse, inflexible, and complacent. 

Old Thinking: The world is in shambles. I can’t risk anything now. I missed my window.  I’ll just have to wait.

New Thinking: There will always be a pandemic, a war, inflation, supply chain issues, political divisiveness, and the like.  The world is consistent in its turbulence and uncertainty. Therefore, there is no time like right now.  Today is the first day of the rest of your leadership. 

Thoughts Lead to Actions

To defeat the depleted state, think about the last time you started a new job. Everything was new. You saw things for the first time. You asked questions. Your curiosity drove you for more and reawakened your colleagues to things they no longer were able to see. It was exciting. The adrenaline fueled you. Channel this perspective as you contemplate your leadership.

The world needs leaders. Real leaders. #zelensky. Leaders who are courageous in the face of the impossible. Leaders who take bold moves and desire to positively impact the world from their sphere of influence.

Here a few steps to operationalize this Call to Arms:

Step 1: Take a day for a leadership strategy session at the end of the quarter.

Step 2: Evaluate your vision for your leadership – the leadership of yourself, your team and the organization. 

Step 3: Identify the three main strategic initiatives you are deploying (or are going to deploy) to achieve your leadership vision.

Step 4: Create a weekly action plan to move those strategic initiatives forward. Track your activity until it becomes a habit.

Step 5: Enroll a support team to what you are doing.

With a plan and a partner anything is possible. Who’s in?

Boost Your Performance

Join me as we take up arms to fill the leadership gap that we all see so clearly. As a form of encouragement, we at Robin Pou, Inc., are:

• Hiring and establishing new routines to accommodate the growth.

• Launching new leadership services.

• Investing in technology to support our leaders.

• Connecting leaders who need to know one another.

• On a mission to inspire, teach, train and coach the next generations of leaders.

How can we support you to take the risk you need to be the leader you were meant to be?

What’s Your Opinion?

What are you choosing to do in this new era? Share with me at: robin.pou@robinpou.com.

Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!

Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist

If this was helpful, feel free to share it with another leader who needs to defeat doubt and complete their confidence.

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What is “The Confident Leader”?

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.