We're dedicated, we're committed, we're working hard, and we try to control or even force our business results into the right direction.
But have you ever made an analysis of your personal effectiveness? How much energy and time you put in compared towards the real results that come out?
OK, we can argue about what we see as 'results', and that it is probably more then only the financial results. But even then, I see many leaders who put so much effort into their work, but who get so less satisfaction and results out of it.
So be very honest to yourself while answering this question:
"Do your people really understand how much you put in?"
If your answer is a straight 'NO', or if this question triggers a feeling of being a bit lonely in your leadership role, then you should read on!
Leadership is a very lonely and demanding business, especially within a smaller company.
You need to have the bright ideas, you need to come up with the right questions, you need to guide your people and the processes into the right direction, you need to control the results, and you need to do this not once, but continuously, day after day.
We build action plans and strategies to help us with this demanding task. We surround us with the best possible people who align with the goal we want to reach. Sometimes we hire experts to boost a specific topic. We follow courses, we go to seminars, we read books. All to be able to do and reach what we really want.
But do you see a pattern in this?
It's a pattern of more (and more, and more,...).
More education, more effort, better action plans, more specific actions, better people, more control, more data,...
And where does it lead us to?
To a society where burnout and depression is a highly ranked disease phenomenon.
To a society where people sacrifice their health in order to make money.
Money that they then have to sacrifice to recuperate their health.
Then they become so anxious about the future that they don't enjoy the present.
Resulting in not living in the present, nor the future.
People who live as if they are never going to die, and then die having never really lived.
So how much effort do you put in, and how much satisfaction do you get out?
The Disney film "Frozen" teaches us a big life lesson on this one: Let it go...
You see, sometimes things are uncontrollable, sometimes unexpected things happen, things that could never have been foreseen, sometimes your efforts are interpreted in a completely different way resulting in a storm you just have to coop with, sometimes some very unexpected plot changes just occur.
And all these unexpected things can have a positive or a negative influence.
You know they are there, and you know that the only thing you can do with them is to let it go, and let it flow into the direction it wants to develop.
But that's hard, because we want control, we want certainty, we want progress,... and then life just throws something at you...
Having trust in this unknown, in this nothingness, trusting that the right things will be thrown at you, and trusting that the right results will anyhow come out, that can be a big relief for that feeling of loneliness that you had when answering the question at the beginning of this blog.
Even more, having trust in that nothingness can be a big part of your business model or operating mode. Relieving yourself and your business from unnecessary stress caused by unexpected plot changes.
So allow, or even invite, the unknown to play an important role in your business. It will de-stress many people when negative things happen, and it will bring a lot of unexpected opportunities that you could have never imagined upfront.
Achieving this is mainly a mindset. A mindset of trust in the bigger picture. A mindset of creating long term goals for the next 25 years, instead of describing 3 year goals as long term. A mindset in which you are very clear about what you want to achieve in the final end, without knowing exactly how to get there.
And this is something you can practice.
First of all, be clear and specific about your real end results.
Then practice to look at everything that happens just as a series of events that will help you to get there where you really want to get, even the negative ones.
If you do this in a consistent way, then you will feel the difference in your stress level, in the connection with the people around you, and in the positive vibe you radiate towards everybody you work and live with, very quickly!
You need some help to create clarity about your real end results?
You want to practice your mindset or positive attitude towards everything that happens?
Then feel free to book a 30 minutes (re-)connect session with me so we can have a look on what you might need most right now.
Written by
Dennis Fredrickx, the Business Booster
Dennis helps Ambitious Leaders to reach more in an easier way.
.jpg)
