Lead, Be Heard, Make a Difference … and Have Fun Part II
Introduction
Last week we looked at How To Value-Engineer Your Purpose. Having checked in with your WHY, how are you going to tune up and maintain your effectiveness?
There are two kinds of preparation which will enable you to excel in all that you do: I refer to them as External, workload-driven and Internal, Soft Power-driven. The strength of Soft Power ( https://bit.ly/3naBwCX ) enables us to avoid burn-out that results from being in the masculine archetype of Superwoman.
When you first start out working, you just look for ways to make yourself useful – re-organise the office, schedule group diaries, set up presentations, take notes. As you gain experience, the dynamics begin to shift: people start coming to you, not just for the reliability of your material, but specifically for the quality of your thinking. You are in increasing demand, it gets harder to say ‘No’, and juggling becomes your new normal.
Article 2: Prepping the Engine-Room of Your No1 Asset: You
The constant juggling of conflicting demands depletes your energy. That’s when it is easy to forget about priming and maintaining your driving force. You wouldn’t leave a precious watch out in all weathers and expect it to function effectively when you retrieved it.
Nor would you expect to achieve your clients’ project ambitions, without doing all the research, evaluation, ideation and using it
as your springboard for their success. Your engine-room needs exactly this level of care, investment and creative attention.
Tip 1:
Think about ‘Wellbeing’ as a verb, not a noun. It means priming and maintaining yourself on an on-going basis – it’s an ACTION word.
Tip 2:
Everything starts with replenishing your energy – the first of the Soft Power Principles. What else does your wellbeing require? For this job, tune into another of the 5 womens’ PowerTypesTM we all have within us: Lover. Yes, she is characterised by her sensuality and sexuality, but also by her enjoyment of emotion and feeling; she’s the source of life, of creativity, she explores the world through
her five senses. And crucially, she is the centre of your self-care.
Tip 3:
Think of your wellbeing as a Needs Matrix
of 4 elements: physiological, psychological, social and spiritual. Needs are what ‘get you
to OK’, and OK is good enough. For instance, you struggle with your usual 5 hours’ sleep, 8.5 would be optimal, but 6.5 hours will get you to OK.
Go ahead and audit each element with the kind of attention you would bring to the quarterly financial report to the Board:
What do you know you need, and what’s really happening?
Start with the physiological – shelter, sleep, food, water, exercise and so on. Be gently honest with yourself – because you are in the business of prepping your whole being. Then move on to the psychological, that includes needs like laughter, love, play, intellectual stimulus, time alone – even in a blissfully happy relationship. Be bold in your audit, it’s time to really LISTEN to yourself.
My clients often find that one action can meet multiple needs: a 20 minute walk in nature could provide exercise, a sense of freedom, connection with the wider world, calm for your mind, time alone, blue sky thinking time, activation of your mind–body connection, getting you to OK psychologically, spiritually and physically.
The key to consistently being at your most powerful, is to make sure your needs are met.
Riccardo Annandale unsplash
Now for the External, workload prep:
Let’s say the Board want to acquire more hotel real estate abroad, to expand their reach.
You and your team have been tasked with producing the research material on locations and competitors for Finance to run the numbers analysis.
With your Needs now met and your mind primed, you tap into another one of the 5 women’s PowerTypesTM – Queen. She’s the energy that’s comfortable with leadership, holds a clear vision for her realm and those in it, inspires loyalty and dedication and holds the space for greatness for all. You also tune into Sorceress energy – creative, intuitive, wise – we met her last week.
From Queen and Sorceress, you can now lift the ambitions of the project:
Is this Board decision really just about affordability? What else is possible here? How could the company expand its offer
to travellers? Is there an opportunity for collaboration with local businesses that could transform our guests’ experience? and so on.
You’re now ready to present the material you were asked for and ALSO some astute, exciting ideas, or at least some powerful questions. Next week we’ll look at Board Room Presence To Make A Difference.
If the content of this article resonates, and you would like to explore how to shift your mindset to lead, be heard and make a difference, message me for a complimentary Strategy Call on LinkedIn or email me at nancy@sparkstonecoaching.com