Leading In the Trenches

I was doing a leadership workshop on a nice Monday morning with a group of high-capacity leaders. They each lead large teams of people and big pieces of this company. And here’s what we explored – what does it mean to lead from a place of abundance rather than scarcity? What are small, significant things we do every day to lead and live from abundance? Why does it matter? And what’s the impact? Seems menial to such important leaders … and they loved it!

One of the leaders in the room had an ‘ah-ha’ moment. She recognized that as she has excelled in higher leadership positions, the more junk gets thrown her way. She’s often the person putting out fires. Her job as an organizational leader is fundamentally one that’s always dealing with issues. I wonder how many of us can relate?! We all want to be excellent leaders. We strive. We work hard. We pour into ourselves and others. And, we find that the job is exhausting. How do we tap into that abundance in the face of all the real-life stuff happening? Abundant leaders should absolutely be equipped to put out the fires (and do it well!), but that doesn’t mean we need to lead through the trenches from a place of scarcity and burnout.

As we discussed shifting our minds from scarcity to abundance, she realized that with super simple tools, like gratitude and emotional awareness, she could be the abundant leader she is and silence the negative, fear-based, scarcity voices that tend to get louder the more we deal with problems all day. I share with you her takeaway because I think it’s a helpful reminder to us all – there will always be problems, struggles, and trials. It’s life. And as leaders, it really is the job. We also have a choice – to view those problems and struggles through a lens of abundance (being grateful, open, honest, loving, having hard but necessary conversations, etc.) or through a lens of scarcity (fear, talking around things, hoping issues simply resolve themselves, contributing to the negative rhetoric, etc.). As leaders, you set the tone for your people and your culture. If you’re leading from exhaustion and burn out, I guarantee your people are, too, and your culture feels that way. Good news — there’s hope! And it doesn’t take more than intentionality and simple tools to turn the tide.

Life will continue to happen — the good alongside the hard, the victories alongside the failures. As you navigate life today, what voices are running through your mind? Grateful, peaceful, resilient, gritty, helpful voices? Or some voices we should probably name and reroute? I believe in your capacity to lead abundantly! Go and be the change! Go and be the light! The people around you need it — and I’m here to help, guide, and equip you as you lead the change!