There comes a time on a leader’s journey where we face down challenges and have our soul stripped bare.
We wonder, ‘is this for me? Am I the right leader for the job? Is this the commitment for my one and precious life?’
There is joy in alignment to a cause greater than ourselves. To a purpose that nudges human consciousness a step farther along its developmental journey.
There is fulfilment in sharing that path with others. To look sideways in the fray and exchange a grin with colleagues. It’s tough, but we’re here together, in the shield wall, heaving shoulder to shoulder towards a better future.
But what happens when that future seems tarnished? Where the shield wall falters as others don’t seem to hold their share of the load? What then?
Question 1. Is it worth it?
The leaders I work with sometimes ruminate on this. When the Chair is cantankerous, the executive team bullish, and the workload gargantuan.
Enthusiasm can wear thin.
Perhaps you’ve abandoned organisations and projects, not because they were too hard, but because the purpose was not worth the cost to your health and spirit.
Question 2. What is worth it?
That’s perhaps the better guiding question.
What lights us up? What is meaningful to us? What difference in the world might we make if we solved these problems? Can I summon the courage to challenge the hard relationships, the difficult behaviours, so that we might overcome our squabbles and create something magnificent?
Question 3. How can I be the leader we need to attract the people I want to work with?
This is the next most important question.
From purpose we craft identity. Our leadership identity shapes our approach and calls on our deepest values. It steers us in the rough, dark waters and sees us through the fog of uncertainty.
We need to know what we are best suited for. Are you the right leader for the job?
Know your purpose, shape your identity.
Question 4. Who can I share this burden with?
Leadership is a fulfilling and sometimes lonely journey. We benefit from the company of other explorers, to share insights and tips from the mountain tops through to the caverns of doubt.
There’s solace in sharing a pint with fellow travellers at a roadside inn before saddling the horse and venturing forth once more.
The end of the year is a great time for meaningful reflection. Take some time and reflect on your journey to date. Are you on a path that sets your heart on fire?
Want a little help and a dedicated space to sort through the questions and answers?
Join us at our next event - online 30 November, or in person in Canberra 1 December.
I’ll guide you through some powerful reflection, share strategies for how to leverage your strengths, and share a new program I have for leaders in 2024 called The Odyssey.
See you there!
Live well, lead well.
About Zoë Routh, Canberra leadership futurist
Zoë Routh is a leadership futurist, podcaster, and multiple award-winning author. She works with leaders and teams to explore what's coming and what it means for leadership of the future.
She has worked with individuals and teams internationally and in Australia since 1987. From wild Canadian rivers to the Australian Outback, and the Boardroom jungles, Zoë is an adventurist! She facilitates strategy and culture for the future with audacious teams.
Zoë's fourth leadership book, People Stuff - Beyond Personality Problems: An advanced handbook for leadership, won the Book of the Year at the Australian Business Book Awards in 2020. Her fifth book is a leadership futurist science fiction dystopian novel, The Olympus Project.
Zoë is the producer of the Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast, dedicated to asking “What if…?” and sharing big ideas on the Future of Leadership.
Zoë is an outdoor adventurist and enjoys telemark skiing, has run 6 marathons, is a one-time belly-dancer, has survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. She is married to a gorgeous Aussie and is a self-confessed dark chocolate addict.
