Spring is in the air
As the birdsong becomes that chirrup sweeter and the green returns to the trees, this is a great time to feel optimistic. Springtime offers a host of new opportunities, natural, personal and professional, so harness that spirit of goodwill to revitalise your energy and stimulate success. Whist external factors and restrictions definitely play their part, so much of reaching a goal is related to belief in one’s ability.
Expectations, reality and frustration
When your expectations meet reality, this can be seen as satisfactory, pleasing even, and when your expectations are exceeded by reality, this produces delight. However, when results fall short of what you hoped, this can lead to frustration, which if left to develop, can become a detrimental influence, in and of itself. Becoming submerged by these feelings and your enthusiasm, and therefore, your productivity will be damaged, thus producing further discontent in a viscous cycle.
What can be particularly frustrating is when those around you, whether this be work colleagues or family, cannot understand your current dissatisfaction. From an exterior perspective your business seems to be running well and bringing in profit, but you know things could be better. Maybe you would like to streamline some of your processes to make them more efficient, or reassess your strategy to think ahead. This ambitious mindset is a prerequisite of being a leader; you don’t have to settle.
Don’t be scared
Fear is omnipresent, in one form or another. Living without fear is almost impossible and as the leader of a business, you will have to navigate a variety of ever evolving concerns. It is natural to feel nervous or trepidatious and this can sometimes be beneficial in choosing the right decision. However, there is a point where these doubts must be dismissed for you to assume the most positive mindset and produce the best outcomes.
You may be feeling:
A fear of failure – this is a natural doubt that you will reach the goals you have set, and therefore, have to deal the consequences of this shortfall.
A fear of success – less regarded but equally inhibiting is the uncertainty surrounding meeting one’s targets. What will newfound success bring? How will this change the way my leadership and company must work?
Having a more negative outlook is understandable given the difficulties of the past two years. Not knowing what to expect has deprived us of the consistency that breeds confidence, so all of us are looking at things with a degree more scepticism. This is where it stops. I want all business leaders to find their mojo again, to meet and surpass their pre-pandemic aspirations.
A balancing act
One of the great skills of life is finding that perfect balance between optimism and pessimism. While optimism is broadly accepted as the preferable of the two attributes, pessimism does have advantages such as a more realistic approach, that can be particularly useful during planning stages. At this point however, I think we all need a little more positivity, to dispel the fears we have had during this difficult period and revitalise our efforts.
A key role as leader is to inspire those around you. Those people who didn’t’ understand your frustration and were willing to accept what you merely deemed ok, have to be convinced to your way of thinking. Share your optimism with them, by adapting your leadership to suit their perspectives. Whether this means altering the way you present to your employees, or tweaking the company culture, you need to demonstrate to people that ‘this isn’t it.’
Let’s get confident
As a business coach, I believe a vital aspect of my work is instilling confidence within my clients. This cannot be discovered immediately and takes some building, through reinforcing areas of less understanding and embracing new ways of thinking, to conceive what might be possible. My message to you as an ambitious leader is to use this springtime optimism as a catalyst for the rest of year. You’ve done fantastically to get your company this far, don’t be afraid to take those next steps…
If you are feeling low on confidence, please book a FREE, no-commitment discovery call with me, so we can work towards finding the root of your concern and start considering its solution.