Strategies to Overcome those Small Bumps in Your Leadership Journey

Hey my dear,

What do these examples have in common with you?

• When I was introduced to coaching, I had just had a grievance filed against me by one of my staff
• When someone recommended that Sasha talk to me, it was because she’d just received a less than glowing performance appraisal
• When Kristen first called me, she was being bullied by someone in her office.
• When Paula first reached out, she was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of her new leadership role.

While you may not be experiencing any of those, my guess is at some point in your career, you’ve experienced something similar.

Have you hit a bump?
The truth is, while sometimes things roll along smoothly, we often hit a bump as leaders, and that bump creates a small or a big, mess in our lives.

• Conflict 
• Tension 
• Drama 
• Health issues 
• Relationship issues 

These bumps threaten our security, stability, and our sanity!

How are you approaching your bump?
How you get through each of those situations, defines the future of your leadership journey.  
✅Your style of communication
✅The resources you reach for
✅The strategies you use to grow
The type of person and leader you become are shaped by how you approach each bump along the way.

Can you learn anything from how we approached our bumps?
Each of us approached our bumps in our own ways.

• I went through coaching.
• Sasha initially reached for a trusted advisor who then recommended a leadership assessment that I offer.
• Kristen called me to ask about team training; however, as we began to talk, recognized that was she who needed the support first to deal with how the traumatic impact of what she was going through.
• Paula read every book she could find and committed to a lifelong journey of personal and professional growth.

This is how our approaches shaped us. Do they sound outcomes you want?
How each of us approached our bump, has  shaped the type of leader we are today.

• I feel confident to mentor and coach women leaders to be their best while finding balance with life
• Sasha received a performance appraisal a year later noting how inspiring she is for her team
• Kristen took time to heal before regaining her strength and composure to lead her team even more powerfully.
• Paula lifelong journey of personal and professional growth has rubbed off on her leadership team. The shift in focus on growing each member individually has created a cohesive team.

The question for you today is: What’s your current bump and what’s your approach to dealing with it?

• Are you just hoping it will go away️
• Are you waiting for someone else to change️
• Are you praying for someone to magically swoop in and fix it for you️
• Or are you taking responsibility for yourself, your impact, your growth, and who you are becoming as a leader?​

⚠️Leadership is a hard journey⚠️
I don’t want you to go through it alone, in fact...
You should NOT have to go through leadership
feeling alone and isolated!

❣️You should have friends, mentors, resources and coaches!
❣️You should have a shoulder to cry on and someone to kick your butt into gear when you need to take responsibility for the change.

Don't do this!
I've coached and mentored hundreds of women and what I see often is this:

• Far too many women struggle on their own, and wonder why they continue to struggle, day after day.
• Far too many women feel like something’s wrong with them because they don’t measure up can’t handle it, or are experiencing challenges

That’s simply not the truth ️

Struggle and doubt are part of the leadership journey. Leadership will have tough days. Period. There will be many amazing, insightful, exciting and enjoyable days too. But there will be tough days.

It’s how you deal with the tough days, that will shape your leadership character!
​

Create your pit crew:
Your pit crew is a list of people that, when you hit a bump, will be there on the side of the road for you!

• They will pump up your tire: Giving you inspiration and motivation to go on.
• They will fuel up your vehicle: Providing wisdom, resources and suggestions to keep you on the right path.
• They will pat you on the back and point you back onto the track reminding you that you are here, at this job to make a difference. They will wink at you and whisper: Your fans are waiting; even if you can’t see them, they are just around the bend hoping you’ll show up soon!

️DO THIS: Make a list of those people that you can call lean on, or ask for help when you need them. 

• Tuck that list into your notebook, purse or daytimer. 
• When you have one of those days, reach out to them for guidance. 

Hint: It doesn’t need to be a real call. I have on my list, people I’ve taken virtual training with. When I hit a block, I’ll say to myself:

                        What would Simon, Brene, Brian, Joni, Amy, or the Kathy I’m becoming tell me to do?

Leadership is full of difficult meetings, tough conversations and challenging moments. But you’ve got this, my dear. You can do this. It just takes a little help from your friends - AKA your pit crew.

Kathy ​

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