Win Your Leadership Week. (#192)
The Confident Leader
BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Early one morning during my routine run at the local track, I attempted to encourage an older gentleman who was walking. His response was not what I expected.
“Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.”
This Week’s Edition
Leaders report being exhausted from the never-ending cycle of work week after week. How can leaders stay in the game with energy and enthusiasm?
Clarify Your Thinking
Every single time I went to the track, I saw this older gentleman walking. He was never NOT there. After weeks of admiration from afar, I offered, “Sir, you are amazing. You are always here. Your consistency is incredible.”
He didn’t even look up as he instinctively responded, “Slow is fast. Never stop.” You could tell it was ingrained in him, a way of living.
Those words struck a chord with me. When I shared the story, others pointed me toward the more famous version from the Navy Seals:
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
The principle speaks to the fact that efficiency and speed come from deliberate actions resulting in huge cumulative gains over time.
The motto trains soldiers to rush less and achieve more during challenging situations. Its focus on accuracy over haste and better stress management through intentional efforts with fewer mistakes is a simple but powerful lesson for all leaders.
Old Thinking: I’ve got so much to do. I don’t have enough time. I am overwhelmed. I will never get ahead. I’ve got to rush through this to get to the next thing.
New Thinking: Methodical effort over time produces small results that compound over time. I’m going to shorten my horizon to focus on my actions and performance for this week and worry less about the ultimate outcomes in the future.
Thoughts Lead to Actions
When executing the day-to-day, leaders want to end the week feeling successful. If on Friday, they think they haven’t won the week, it’s harder to get motivated for the next week.
For leaders to stay in the game, they must find a way to stop rushing around, making unforced errors, and becoming discouraged by overwhelming future goals.
We want to help you win your leadership week. This week’s race begins tomorrow so ready yourself by taking these three steps:
Step 1: Spend 5 minutes.
Step 2: Answer 5 power questions.
Step 3: Alter the trajectory of the next 5 days.
Click this link for a short survey to put last week behind you, think about the coming week, and commit to the most important activities.
You only get 50 weeks a year to get it right. We are here for you.
Boost Your Performance
The Confident Leader newsletter is designed to help you win your leadership week, equipping you for the coming five days. Every year you get 50 attempts to get it right. Let’s take it one week at a time. Let’s win the week!
Watch this week’s video for one thing to help you win this week.
What’s Your Opinion?
What is your approach to winning your week? 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.
