sooo…. we’re in the middle of a ginormous shift in leadership… from book smarts to emotional smarts.
being a CEO is a tough job, though (hopefully) rewarding. there’s little day to day glamour. lots of responsibility. + always a new twist to deal with: pandemics, economic shocks, competitors, the disconnection of remote work, stress, uncertainty, loneliness... though with some fun, teamwork and growth mixed in!
[sounds like parenting]
there’s more to leadership than holding teams accountable to goals and KPIs [ugh i’m so bored even writing that sentence.]
CEOs - who set the tone for their teams - need to start taking off the ‘corporate armor’ and opening up as multi-dimensional humans working with and leading other humans. {“1-dimensional” is how you see them on LinkedIn.}
multi-dimensional means they have a life at work, outside work, dreams, fears and bunions.
what, you think Elon Musk is immune from things like butt pimples, ingrown toenails or foot fetishes? c’mon.
i wear that corporate armor, you wear it, your peers wear it. we all wear it. it’s in the board room, sales calls and interviews. you see it on instagram or linkedin…everyone’s killing it (except you), right?
but even Taylor Swift and Elon Musk or [insert your role model here _____ ] have to deal with the shit of being a human. from debt, to divorce, to depression…
behind the armor are a wider spectrum of feelings beyond the ‘work face’ - excitement, fear, uncertainty and doubt around so many things inside and outside of work!
more than ever, what your team needs is an example of “wow, you know what? something's wrong. i have no idea what to do in this moment and feel confused like you. i have the experience of been through crises before [or faith, or whatever else you have that gets you through the “black holes”], so i know we will find a way through - even if i have no idea how - yet.”
we don’t need to rock up and project 100% certainty.
it’s already hard enough to build a company, scale a team, and present as ‘perfect’ - wearing that “i’m not anxious'“ mask just drains energy from other places you need it.
the start: tuning into what you’re feeling, and sharing that with the people you’re working with. setting the example that they can do that too… small steps => a little more openness, vulnerability => a little less armor => a little more energy & enjoyment…
⭐
air
drop your corporate amour