The table stakes on leadership just got higher in 2020. And that's a good thing.
We need to make impossible balances. Impossible because they won't work for everyone. And more impossible because we've got to be sensitive to the fact that they won’t work for everyone, while still trusting in our own judgement and being resolute and thick-skinned enough to continue if it's the right thing.
We need to balance confidence with vulnerability. Being in front of the team with being with them. And still somehow also having their back covered.
And doing all of that without robbing them of dignity, responsibility and the room to grow. Caring, but not being inappropriately personal.
In other words, we need to be professional with a small p while remaining Human with a capital H.
To lead well in any circumstances, but especially these ones, clarity and intentionality with values and context will be essential. Here's what I mean.
Will 2022 be another year of a strategy at best vaguely met? Of being a CEO unable to step back from the day-to-day to do the things your company needs to meet it's ambitions? Of having a purpose and values that don't directly connect to everything you do? We're looking for an intimate beta group of CEOs (10 to 40 employees) to join us on this upcoming webinar to talk through our Build on Purpose framework for making strategy, purpose and values happen.