The Double-Edged Dance
This space is committed to exploring journeys of leadership transformation and I’m committed to showing up once a week to dance in it with you. Listening to the tunes playing around us, searching for our own rhythms, joyfully (and sometimes painfully) connecting to fellow travelers on their own paths towards greater leadership embodiment.
Leadership transformation. Self transformation. Healing transformation.
I believe it’s all one in the same.
When I was first promoted into management over twenty-five years ago it was because I was really good at my job. I had all the answers – or, at least, that’s what my young, naïve self believed. I realized, overtime, how much I didn’t know – and it became the big secret I hid behind. For years.
Not only did I not have all the answers, there were times I had no clue what to do or which way to turn. So often, especially in the beginning and honestly still today, my angst around not knowing can play out in all sorts of dysfunctional ways.
I wasn’t the most popular or most athletic. I was the kid who had all the right answers (well, most of the time) and that sense of self-worth became hardwired in me. Part of my growth as a leader has been learning to invite in, listen to, and leverage other bright voices – and it’s made a difference in my work and my sense of connection. As Steve Jobs advises: “it doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
There are times when I still get snagged. Especially when I’m fearful. Especially when the stakes are high. Especially when my neck is on the line.
In my years of helping entrepreneurs transform themselves into better leaders I’ve discovered that we all have our unique journeys. Our locked-in sense of self-worth that drives us is double-edged – with the potential to be expressed in both exceptional and dysfunctional ways.
I don’t promise I’ll have all the answers. I do promise I’ll bring everything I have into curiously and courageously walking with you into meaningful questions and skillfully holding whatever we discover along the way.
What is your locked-in sense of self-worth that, as a leader, can be both your greatest gift and deepest struggle to overcome?
