Not long ago, I was going through my wooden chest crammed with cards, letters and memorabilia from my childhood, when I discovered a to-do list I wrote on my dad’s manual typewriter in fourth grade. It read:
Things to do today:
1. Wash my face
2. Feed Pearly (my pet rabbit)
3. Clean my room
4. Iron handkerchiefs (We used to get paid 10 cents for each.)
5. Be popular (How funny is that?)
6. Buy Barbie doll clothes
After a good chuckle, my glee shifted to amazement. I had been writing to-do lists since the fourth grade!
I grew up believing if I worked hard and took the right actions, I would achieve my goals, and it became my winning formula for high school, college and beyond. My solution for overwhelming feelings was to put in more effort and try to control the outcome. If my efforts failed, I would simply push more and work harder.
In college and early in my career, I would rush blindly through my days using sheer willpower, with the single-minded goal of paying homage to the great to-do list gods in the sky. I was in a wrestling match against time.
We’re a doing-oriented society, zooming from one activity to the next, and always making the future more important than the present. But this kind of frantic, doing-more mentality has a fatal flaw. Just because we’re acting doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to achieve our goals.
There is a better solution that supports not only our well-being but also boosts our performance, productivity and results. The secret lies in discovering how to become a “Power Leader.” Being a Power Leader asserts that the true source for breakthroughs is in who we are and how we are working versus what we are doing.
Ironically, all our efforts to control outcomes actually hold us back from achieving the results we’re working to achieve. Workaholic behavior eventually backfires and stops us from being fully embodied leaders with access to our innate creativity, inspiration and guidance. This hinders our performance.
Becoming a Power Leader is a multidisciplinary approach that allows leaders to improve their communication, performance and results — both in themselves and in the people they lead.
What this looks like daily:
Where we once shrank from conflict, we gain confidence in addressing and communicating difficult topics head-on. We can engage in hard conversations and express appropriate boundaries when necessary. We can remain present and communicate effectively in challenging and uncomfortable situations, becoming role models for the people we lead and those around us.
We stop neglecting ourselves and our needs. We take breaks when necessary and recognize rest recharges us without feeling guilt. We are left with more energy at the end of our workday.
We empower others to do what they can for themselves without doing things for them or taking away their dignity. We are confident, clear communicators who aren’t afraid of being misunderstood or being too direct. Fear of being seen and standing up for ourselves will leave us. We develop a deep trust in intuitively knowing how to handle challenging situations that used to overwhelm and confuse us.
We work smarter, not harder as we take action and produce results from a place of ease, relaxation and being in the flow. We experience a deep shift in performance perspective and can surrender, detach from and trust in outcomes. We begin to see that life is working for us instead of against us.
We experience more play in our work and lives. We rediscover simple, meaningful activities that bring us more connection, fun, creativity, joy, ease and laughter.
We gain clarity, insight and wisdom to make effective, difference-making decisions. We learn how to intuitively discern the best course of action and communication. We experience a deep sense of authenticity and confidence and gain access to new possibilities, behaviors and choices that were previously unseen.
We can access our natural leadership instincts, take action and engage in influential conversations with others. We cause breakthroughs that transform our work (and family) culture and result in new futures/outcomes that could not have happened if we weren’t showing up as Power Leaders — with less effort and greater efficacy and joy.
To use an analogy, we become like hanging mobiles where when one piece moves (us as leaders) it affects.