Are You Leading, or Just Coping?
It’s easy to look like you’ve got it all together. But the truth behind leadership is often far more exhausting and lonelier than it looks.
From the outside, you’re doing great. The team’s performing, the targets are being hit, your boss is super happy with what you’re doing and you’re the one others come to when things go wrong, and you handle it brilliantly. Why? Because you’re a professional…actor! Because leadership can be performative in so many ways. Nobody wants to see their boss running around like the whole place is on fire, shouting “FIRE” at the top of their lungs, do they?!
Well…unless there is an actual fire. In which case, run like f*ck to the nearest exit…(I can’t wait for my old H&S teams to give me stick over running - “No James, we don’t run”) Anyway…back to my point.
But inside? You’re just about holding it together. You go from meeting to meeting, inbox to inbox and fire to fire. You’re wired and reacting to situations without too much thought (I can’t recall the number of times I've done this!), constantly on and never taking that step back to pause, think and reflect.
There’s no space to think, let alone breathe.
That’s not leadership, that’s what I call high-functioning survival. I’ve been there too and it’s a bloody horrible place to be. If you’re reading this right now, going “Yeah, I feel like this and in fact, I’m feeling it right now”, then you know what I mean (and you should give me a call or drop me a DM asap!)
The truth is, many senior leaders operate in this state for years. They get rewarded for it, promoted for it and even applauded for it, because they’re “operators”.
But it’s not sustainable and it’s certainly not fulfilling. Real leadership starts when you stop reacting and start choosing. Choosing space, choosing health and choosing systems that serve you, not just the business.
That’s what I coach and if this resonates, drop me a DM or book in a Free Discovery call to see how I might be able to help you.
Stop coping and start leading.
