The Dream is The Journey (#153)
The Confident Leader
BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
We were stunned. Carl, our parent company’s COO, announced that our division was being shut down. Only twenty-four months earlier, we had sold our Internet company to Carl. It was the loss of a dream.
““If reality can destroy the dream, why shouldn’t the dream be able to destroy reality?”
— George A. Moore (Irish novelist)
This Week’s Edition
What would it look like to change our thinking FROM striving to achieve the goal TO enjoying the journey – making the “dream” the journey?
Clarify Your Thinking
In one short meeting our little company’s grander dream to impact an industry, change lives for the better and achieve greatness was lost. Over time we found ourselves challenged to dream again. The pain was too great.
For the leaders I work with, they are driven by their dream – a cherished aspiration. The dream also beckons others to join the pursuit and think bigger.
Then something unexpected steals the dream – a global pandemic, a recession, inflation, debt too heavy to bear, a broken relationship with a partner, etc…
This type of professional catastrophe can keep the leader from ever dreaming again. While dreaming is euphoric, losing the dream is painful. This is where the world risks losing another visionary.
What if we adjusted our thinking slightly by making the pursuit of the dream the dream itself, effectively releasing us from the outcome?
Old Thinking: I have lost my dream. Maybe I should never dream again because it is too hard to keep it and even harder losing it.
New Thinking: My dream has been shattered and I am disappointed, yet there has been a story written along the way. Maybe this is a doorway to a new and improved dream. Could the day-to-day pursuit of the dream be the dream itself?
Thoughts Lead to Actions
If the pursuit of the dream were to the dream it may cause us to focus more on the process of getting there THAN the outcome – a way of living the “dream” every step of the way.
The opening video package for Wimbledon, the annual tennis match in London, offered a way to think about this:
The dream is the right, the privilege, the opportunity to pursue the goal. That’s the dream… not the outcome.
If only one person wins the tournament then everyone else could fall into the trap of thinking that the dream had been lost (or stolen from them) as they fail to progress in the tournament’s bracket. If that’s the thinking, why even bother trying?
On the flip side, imagine walking onto the freshly cut grass before a global audience with the opportunity to play against a world ranked player. That’s the dream, regardless of who wins. Sure, play as if to win, but don’t miss the fulfillment of the dream: you got to play at Wimbledon.
Take this one step to realize your dream:
Step 1: Take stock of your day-to-day leadership life.
- What do you get to do?
- Who do you get to do it with?
- Is it helping you fulfill your “why”?
- Are you making an impact?
The answers to these questions will help you separate the desired outcome from the journey.
High achievers are by definition focused on the achievement – the outcome. This is how great things get done, but at what expense?
Leaders who report dismissing the concept of “enjoying” the process and are frustrated with slow results have a greater chance of burnout, fatigue and lack of job satisfaction.
If you define the journey as the dream, congratulations. If not give us a call. We would love to help you achieve your dream… both the journey and the outcome.
Boost Your Performance
I was quite impacted by the opening video of Wimbledon. I felt compelled to share how the concept of the journey is the dream can influence the manner in which we leaders think about our day-to-day jobs. Find out more in this week’s video.
What’s Your Opinion?
What’s your dream? 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.
