2024W46: Leadership and Uncertainty

Two great horned owls on the roof of my next door neighbor’s house. They say we will be OK, together.

Friends. Last week was some kind of week! Lots of us are feeling off kilter, no longer on sure footing, and more uncertain than we’ve felt in a long time.

I know we can meet this moment, and all the moments to come.

Make a quick mental list of the books you’ve read, the seminars you’ve taken, and all the lessons you’ve learned the past year or two. I know it’s a lot! Whatever things look like on the outside, remember that on your inside, you’ve been doing good, steady work. If you haven’t been practicing as much as you’ve been studying, now is the time.

Eight years ago I wrote on this very blog that a world that feels leaderless is nudging us to step up our individual leadership. And that doesn’t mean taking on a title and being a figurehead, or being the organizing catalyst for a pop-up protest — although if you do those things, I thank and salute you.

Stepping up our individual leadership means taking all that we’ve learned about being better humans and doing the work, when no one is watching, when we don’t get a prize, and especially when we don’t feel like it. For some of us, it means more de-centering ourselves, listening deeply, staying in uncertainty and not thrashing about demanding quick answers, and making very conscious, community-based decisions about our actions. It means being responsible to ourselves and our neighbors to take more and more tangible steps (beyond voting!!!) to create the world we envision together.

Leadership is not a job for other people.

Leadership is about pushing our actions into integrity with our words.

Let’s go.

2024W10: On Community, And Leading From The Edge

I’ve always maintained that when we lead a workshop, we are leading people. Each workshop is a test of our ability to make a team from the folks who happen to be in the room, for each team member to contribute, and for all of us to grow from our work together. And maybe the end result, after 24 years of leading workshops, is that you find yourself having accidentally led a community, too.

This KWU AmBASSador Award was a huge surprise for someone who hasn’t been in the direct center of things for many years. I’m still documenting the lessons I am learning from this experience.

This year is full of creative output. Contrary to popular opinion, I usually have more curiosity, energy, and ambition than actual confidence about the programs, media, and other things I am putting out in the world right now. I guess I am learning that that is also leadership. That a community is watching, and probably waiting for someone else to move first and pave the way.

On that note, about Instructor Notes podcast… on Friday we published our fourth episode, which means we are halfway through our first season. It’s super gratifying to be part of creating something for us, the KW trainer community, with us. Even if you have not listened, please contribute to the community by calling in with a training question, maybe a training tip, a request for a future episode, whatever: 210-570-5858. It’s for us!!!

When Leadership Highs Outweigh the Lows

A friend called me today to share a story. She met with a visible public figure recently, and after the meeting, my friend wrote up some thoughts about the meeting and emailed them to a small group of friends and business associates who might be helped by hearing her thoughts. (This public figure happens to represent issues that affect my friend both personally and professionally.).

Maybe you know the twist to this familiar story: The email got forwarded once, twice, three times a lady, and ended up back in the hands of this public figure, who called my friend and was quite bothered — at how the tone of the email might negatively reflect on the public figure, might have misrepresented things this public figure said, and maybe felt backstabby.

My friend, who is a skilled and influential leader, expressed such regret to me that she had worked for years to build her reputation and relationships in her field, and with one email she felt she had flushed it all down the drain.

In companies everywhere, this scene is played out. The details may be different but the first lesson remains the same: watch what you put in writing because different people can read the same email in very different contexts! :)

We ended up having the richest discussion, though, on how our careers are not built in a day, and they are rarely taken down in a day. Today, emotions are high. Tomorrow, they will surely be lower. And the day after that they will be still lower. And so on, until the emotions are right where they need to be — taken in sum total with every bit of good work my friend has done over years. And like a trusty math equation, one small, momentary “minus” doesn’t make a dent against the hefty “plus” column.

So chin up, leader. There’s still work to do and the world still counts on you to work your magic. Let’s go!