COVID-19 has changed a lot of things for a lot of people. And there have been two general responses to it.

The first is to wait for the old world to come back.

To think that we will be able to return to the old world, that everything may not be perfect there, but the way it was (or close to it) is good enough.

That is the way of slumber.

The other is wake up to two truths—

First, in many ways and for many people, the old world wasn’t working that well. Maybe it wasn’t working for you.

Maybe you were stressed out and exhausted. Maybe you were in work without meaning. Maybe you never saw your family. Maybe you couldn’t tell the truth at work—or people wouldn’t tell you the truth.

The realization that you’re not happy can be terrifying.

I know. I’ve had that realization. With jobs, with a marriage. Even with a career.

My clients have had it, too.

The second realization is that you can build a future that is different than the past.

You can ask, “What do I want?”

“Who do I want to be? To help? To serve?”

“How do I create that?”

This is the point where you might ask for help.

Because more of the same isn’t going to work anymore.

And if you’re really honest with yourself, maybe it never did.

 

People generally come to me for one of two reasons.

First, doing more of the same thing they have always done is no longer working.

You’ve gotten to the point where you can’t work more hours. Where you can’t know every detail.

This served you well early in your career, but now it will sink you.

Unless you change. Because to grow, you need to let go.

If you know what you need to do (let go, delegate, etc.) but for some reason can’t do it, it’s a clear sign we should be talking.

Second, when getting more of what you have always gotten is no longer rewarding.

You’re really good at getting more money, at getting promoted, at getting all the outer trappings of success.

But you’ve done it enough to see that outer success is a dead end. And you don’t yet know what inner success looks like.

That’s another reason that people hire me. To figure out what they will do with the second half of their life, when the scorecard looks very different.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. I hope that you get some time to think about some of these bigger questions.

Because at some point, I guarantee, more of the same will no longer be enough.

And at that point, let’s talk.

 

Great conversation on leading in and through uncertainty. And he gave me a cool picture of myself!

Listen here.

 

 

What are the truths that you can see but can’t say?

Do you have honest, constructive feedback conversations? With your CEO, your reports and your peers?

One of the biggest challenges that I run into, at all levels of an organization, is a fear of telling the truth.

I believe that we become better leaders by becoming better humans. If you can’t say what’s really on your mind, there is something about you, about your organization, or both, that needs to change.

If you want to become part of a free group that supports each other as we learn to speak our truth, please PM me.

I’m creating a group of people who want to bring their whole selves to work, who want to do work that matters, who believe that better, more vulnerable, more authentic humans make better leaders.

PM me and I’ll tell you more.

We can do this if we do it together.