Is it fear or purpose that you acted on today?

All of us including myself are making decisions and acting on the stories we tell ourselves.  Those stories can be in response to something that is happening in our environment (from the outside) or they can be based on the dreams and purpose we are pursuing (from our inside). There is a constant tension on the minds of leaders between the idea that we want to create the future, commit to meaningful change versus the idea that we just don’t want to lose what we have and fear the risks in front of us. Effective leadership is about how we act on these choices - are we driven by fear or acting on purpose?

We all have a vision for the future and contribution we want to make, to our organizations, to our community, to our social networks.  All these aspirations lead to tension and there is no escape – with ambitions for a better future comes the possibility of failing to achieve it.  The grander the vision the more risks come along for the ride.  The work of leaders is to act on purpose towards our vision and accept the risks.  Leadership is inherently risky and requires courage.

Three tendencies of leaders acting on fear

Complying – we are complying when we respond to situations out of need for fitting in, belonging, following all the rules to please or leaving decisions to others. When we act in this way our self-worth is determined by our environment rather than what we want and reduces our leadership effectiveness.

Protecting – we protect ourselves in times of uncertainty by keeping our distance, becoming arrogant in the belief we are right or criticizing other people and ideas.  This tendency might feel ok in the short term but doesn’t lead to the lasting greatness we envision.

Controlling – sometimes we have the urge to just get things done by calling on others to act and driving with our own speed to get things done the right way.  This action today produces results but take care of the wake of damaged relationships it leaves behind.  Those will take your energy to repair to bring about lasting results you want. 

When leaders act on purpose:

When we make decisions based on the future we want rather than reacting to the circumstances around us there is a fundamental shift in how we think.  Focusing on what we want brings innovation, creativity, resilience and feelings of satisfaction. 

Try this exercise.  Think of something you hope for in the future – a new role, a vacation, building a relationship.  What do you notice about how your mind imagines the ideas? 

When we tried this at Incito our minds were full of images and visualization of what its like to create the future.  It also seemed like there were several possibilities and no fixed path.

Now think of a situation where there is a problem or something happening that you don’t like.  Notice how you are drawn towards people pleasing to make it happen, away from others to try to figure it out on your own and keep others from knowing what you’re dealing with, or driving over other people to control and domineer your way to a solution.  How creative do you feel?  How satisfied are you, even after the problem is solved? 

When we try this our energy level reduces, we want to get rid of the problem and we are attempting to make decisions among limited possibilities.  We worry about this problem and problems like it that might recur with our attention completely distracted from what we actually want.

When we focus on eliminating the problems, we may indeed succeed in eliminating what we don’t want.  That absence doesn’t get you closer to what you do want, a future where you achieve your fulfilling purpose. Effective leadership happens when we focus on the possibilities for the future, make courageous decisions to own our part in achieving them, and act by taking steps towards what we want.  It begins a virtuous cycle, gaining energy, achieving sustainable results and satisfaction along the way.

SHAWN GIBSON

APRIL 11, 2022

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