7 Things Your Leadership Needs Now

We are in a new era of leadership. Many of us thought we were in a new era in the last few years (I guess we were), and oh... wow... little did we know. What is required NOW as we navigate the present moment and lead into the future, is similar in some ways (after all, we're talking about human beings, human dynamics, connection, and leadership), and also will require more -- and in new ways.
Many of us now meet virtually or have staggered shifts / office time. Our presence on screen is trickier to manage and project accurately. The "soft stuff" and "self-care or presence skills" we may have thought of as a luxury before -- are no longer a luxury. They are a business and leadership must. We now are not only navigating new ways of working, anti-racism and racial justice conversations, the impact of the pandemic in general, shifts in workforce and person-power/bandwidth, changes in expenses, revenue, salaries, and job status (if jobs are still in place), but also employees' concerns and anxiety about their physical safety AND their emotional/mental safety as they re-enter as well. 

Your IEP (Intentional Energetic Presence® + your intentions, energy, and presence) is essential now more than ever. I've posted a lot about this on my Instagram lately. To lead well and clearly, if even moment to moment -- we must be clear on our intentions (what we want to create).

Our intentions set the tone and provide the energetic fuel and direction for making things happen. Our self-care is essential for our mental and physical well-being and stamina, as well as for our energetic hygiene and emotional resiliency. We must take care of ourselves. Our presence keeps us here now, grounded in the moment -- not before, not after, now -- which can help us regroup, breathe, and better know our next step. Our energetic presence is how people experience us and also what they respond to (hence "intentional" hopefully). Our IEP and our health are our greatest assets and what helps us do the work we're here to do, and lead the people we're here to lead. So, work these in whatever ways you can -- as a baseline. Good? Great.

Here are seven other areas to tend to and get better at. (I speak to these more in the 6-min video below.)

1. Clarity & Intentionality: The ability to clarify (and communicate) intentions for the impact a leader wants to have in results, on people, and within themselves.
   
   
2. Resiliency & Groundedness: The ability to hold space, rebalance, get grounded, unpollute, recover as needed, regroup, and stay clear, clean, and resilient in turbulent times and constant change.
   
   
3. Energetic Hygiene & Holding Space for Others: The ability to hold space for others (so they can do the same) without getting reactive, exhausted, or drained/polluted/infected (with negativity, exhaustion, etc.).
   
   
4. Presence & Influence: The ability to lead, inspire, and influence others to make change, move forward, stay productive, be real, reboot, find the gifts, honor the pain, learn, and create the “next.”
   
   
5. Change Management/Leadership: The ability to manage chaos AND create change in the new NOW, focusing on intention, impact, purpose, DEI, and moving forward.
   
   
6. Vision: The ability to see beyond what’s happening now, while holding space for and visioning the new. You must hold a bigger and more compelling vision of the future than you have in the past. (Note that right now you might just "need a minute" to adjust without being a grand visioner -- so be nice to self here. Take the time you need AND stay present to what's needed.) 
   
   
7. Cultural Grounding: The ability to create and contribute to creating a healthy culture via agreements, addressing treatment and engagement criteria, human-ness, diversity, equity, honesty, inclusion, performance, and not tolerating bad behavior.
   

Consider these now-essential leadership skills and ways of being. Your other leadership skills (like giving/receiving feedback, acknowledgement, listening, curiosity, seeing people as people, conflict navigation, proactive relationship design, presence skills, and more) will all be broadly served by the foundation of practiced IEP, solid self-care, and the items on this list.

If you would like to work on these with me, I am available for private executive coaching and advisory work. Please contact me here. 

Links to resources mentioned in the video: