WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A LEADER AND HOW LEADERSHIP COACHING CAN HELP
Being a leader means being responsible for the world around you.
This definition, gratefully borrowed from Karen & Henry Kimsey-House of the Co-Active Training Institute, may cause anxiety. People often think, “The whole world?! I can’t be responsible for the whole world!”
Look at the definition again. Think about your world. The world immediately around you. Your friends. Your family. Your job. Your team. Your community. This is the world referenced above. True leaders acknowledge and respect their span of influence and take responsibility for making their world a better, more equitable, more inclusive, more satisfying, more rewarding place for themselves and those around them.
As your career grows, the sphere of your influence grows. It is your job, as a leader, to ensure you are preparing yourself.
This is where Leadership Coaching can help. Imagine your Leadership journey is like a series of cups. Early in your career, your capacity — which includes knowledge/information, confidence, experience, and skill — is small, like a shot glass. When you start out, you have 1 oz. of capacity. Over time you develop capacity — more knowledge, confidence, experience, and skill — until you reach the point where your capacity is more than the container you’re in. You’re ready for a bigger cup. Woo hoo! Time to celebrate your promotion! You should be thrilled with the move, but BAM! Imposter Syndrome blocks your path telling you all sorts of stories about how you’re going to fail, you don’t know what you’re doing, etc.
Here’s the secret: THIS HAPPENS TO NEARLY EVERYONE. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Why? Consider what happens when you pour that 1oz of capacity into an 8oz cup of promotion.
You have 7oz of empty space above your head as you swim in the bottom of your new cup. You don’t have the capacity — knowledge, confidence, experience, skill — to fill the cup right away. Nobody does. If you could fill the 8oz cup immediately you’d be ready for the 12oz cup, and so on.
Nearly all leaders, upon promotion, experience anxiety and fear they aren’t up for the job. It will take time for you to fill up your cup. The amount of energy and intention you put toward building your capacity will determine how long it will take. Also, as you continue to move from cup to cup, the longer it will take to fill each new cup. The roles become larger and larger, the world around you becomes bigger and bigger, and the need to build your capacity increases. The good news is as you fill your capacity the anxiety goes down and you’ll soon realize you’re ready to make the leap again.
Working with a leadership coach is one way to help you more quickly navigate these moments of doubt. A coach can help you identify your concerns and build strategies to work through them. A coach is a sounding board for new ideas, helps you work through sticky situations, and reinforces the reality that you are not alone in your fears.
If you’re interested in learning more about Leadership Coaching feel free to check out my website at www.iamvirago.com or schedule a free 30 minute Exploratory session.
