When our kids were younger, they constantly asked, “dad, can we go to the park? Can we play hide and seek?” Their requests seemed endless. At one point, I found myself exasperated. Was I saying, “no” more than I said, “yes?” I didn’t like feeling burdened by my duty as a dad so I made one slight adjustment. It changed everything. 

This Week’s Edition

Being a leader can be exhausting, but it shouldn’t be a burden. With everything going on in the world, how do we remind ourselves that leadership is a gift?

Clarify Your Thinking

Even though I felt burdened in my role as a dad, deep down I knew that parenting is a privilege. I yearned to be excited and joyful to play with them, but lack of sleep, work and other responsibilities kept me feeling burdened.

One day, I changed my thinking. I decided to be the dad who said, “yes,” to their requests. It changed everything. I began to log more time with them and enjoyed our playtime. My role felt less burdensome and more like a gift.

My personal experience is similar to today’s leaders, those who have grown to see their leadership role as a burden. Who can blame them? A global pandemic. Supply chain problems. The Great Resignation. Layoffs. A looming recession. The challenges seem endless.

There’s not much to enjoy as a leader who is ultimately accountable for the fiscal performance of an organization in this volatile environment. 

The problem with thinking that leadership is a burden is that it negatively impacts the team, even if the leader never speaks those feelings aloud. 

Thoughts lead to actions. A leader’s thoughts produce a set of actions that effectively show their team that they believe their role as their leader is a burden. Even the horse smells fear. The unintended result is a team who senses their leader is less than thrilled to lead them. Ouch!

Old Thinking: I used to be excited to lead my team, but the job has gotten harder. It feels like a daily burden. I don’t think anything is going to change.

New Thinking: I’ve been entrusted with the stewardship of the people who report to me. They depend on me. They deserve a leader who doesn’t feel burdened by them. I want to regain my love for leading and enjoy the privilege of being a leader. 

Thoughts Lead to Actions

In this time of gift giving during the holiday season, give yourself the gift of leadership. Remind yourself why your role as a leader is a gift to many by taking these three steps:

Step 1: Think back to when you first became a leader. Write out why you said, “yes” to being a leader back then. Reflect on this original Why. Now write why you choose to continue to be a leader. 

• Your why is your intrinsic motivation to do the day-to-day leadership duties to which you are called.

Step 2: Write a list of friction points you experience in your leadership. Collaborate with your team to eliminate those friction points.

• For example, something that may burden you may be a gift for someone else. 

Step 3: Make a list of your strengths and skills. Align your leadership duties to those strengths and skills. Outsource your weaknesses. 

• Leverage the strengths of your team to accomplish more than you can do by yourself.

Boost Your Performance

The holiday season is one of gift giving. If the saying “it is better to give than to receive” is true, give yourself the perspective that leadership is a gift. If not you, then who? 

What’s Your Opinion?

How can you “play” at work? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com. 

If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!

Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist

We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders. 

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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.