With great reward comes great responsibility - how to lead in unstable times

With great reward comes great responsibility - how to lead in unstable times 

Last week of June 2022. WOW.

So thrilled to be sitting with a roof over my head writing today's blog for you all for Monday Mojo©. Feeling pretty grateful.

If you were sitting with me in the past weeks and listening in to calls and coaching, you will hear very much the same feedback from CEO's I work with of smaller businesses to the ones who are leading large organisations with a heavy load to report to shareholders and look after their staff.

"People are pretty disconnected and feeling very unstable".

The boosters from job keepers gave some much needed confidence and massive market highs with the great property boom as interstate home owners cashed up on sales and moved to more COVID friendly locations and nicer climates - everything was in a state of overdrive.

Now it seems the bottom has finally started to drop out of the cardboard box of "we're fine". Rental prices have soared, a housing crisis is on our hands and suddenly the ability for many people to feel safe and secure, make 3,5 year plans has absolutely crumbled.

Last week I did the CEO Sleepout with a radical local crew of femae leaders who in turn raised a whopping $188,000 as part of team Sunshine Coast for Vinnies. Here's a little link to a short post I made on LinkedIn, as I took away 5 key points from meeting the local Vinnies QLD team that evening and made a couple of pledges I am going to proudly stick with.

This week Off the back of fishing for 65 hours the other week as part of an off grid business plan break away, I can tell you that time out has heavily influenced what the rest of my year and beyond will be looking like. Interesting what you do when you really have time to think without distraction and the fish are not biting. 

• What I will be saying yes to, no to and a heck no thank you.
• Why all those consecutive hard core days on a smallish but very capable boat, made me question and realign MANY things I put into my business plan for the next 3-5 years. 

Today to each of you reading this - I encourage you to take a pen and paper, the back of a napkin is fine and do this:

• Write down ALL the things you have done lately, from motivating your staff, to giving someone a hand up, to refocusing your business, learning more about your finances, getting clear on what makes you happy, set up some core business goals you may have already achieved and just moved on past them without stopping to press "celebrate".
• Goal setting is great - but we need to celebrate the milestones and be able to identify what is working and what is not. What will you take through to the next part of this year and what can you graciously leave behind
• A habit or two, a thought pattern, a work or personal relationship, a goal that was there but you weren't really connected to it. A lack of gratitude for what you already have.

With great reward comes great responsibility 

We have SO much. Opportunity, productivity hacks, tools and resources - none of that matters unless you are in the right frame of mind to use it.

Leadership can be a lonely road whether you're a parent, a CEO, a manager or just trying to pioneer and be different in your friend group by following your dreams and creating your own business.

The more we achieve and evolve the more responsibility.

Learning to lead with grace and navigate unstable times also means a true sense of self leadership:

1. Are the core foundations in place?
2. Do you know your targets and your actual financials and numbers?
3. Are you brave enough to set some big goals but also do the ground work for the short and medium term ones that require your focus and attention?
4. Can you slow yourself down just for a moment to ensure you do your Winning Weeks™, look at where your energy needs to go and identify the vital ingredients for what happiness and success actually look like WITHOUT needing to burn out.

Just because things have been done a certain way up until now doesn't mean you can't pivot a little and look into where you need to lead vs manage.

Until next time, stay radical.

Great people lead by example - do that for yourself first.

Your cheerleader and navigator,

Nikki

Also if you're reading and have this a home to come back to, a car, a job or a focus - a way to keep warm and a fridge that can be stocked up and hot water at your fingertips - remember how special that actually is. 

Have a listen to James Hunter from KPMG on Leadership Mojo

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