What all we hold onto… Our minds are cluttered with pieces of the past that are irrelevant to our present or our future. Holding onto thoughts which don’t help propel us forward, is like binge eating junk food. The calories are a waste and all you are left with is guilt and in this process, there is no momentary joy of the binging itself.
Why do these moments or feelings have such a strangle hold on us? Guilt, shame, fear, failure, negativity, they all stack up and work against us. Like dead archives which are of now value they take up precious real estate in our minds.
We all have patterns and repeating behaviours which define us, and we get into repeating modes and in context of leadership, this can turn out to be restrictive and will not enable us to experiment beyond a certain threshold. Chasing perfection is not sustainable and makes the journey to success improbable. Past failures tend to prevent future success.
Holing on to stringent mindsets is also a terrible thing to do. Closed minds aren’t easily moulded and can be resistant to any kind of change. The baggage that we gather tends to bog us down even before we take on something new.
Letting go is not altogether easy, it takes practice and it takes effort. There are things that hold us back, trigger negative emotions, make us unhappy, grudges, habits, power equations, blaming, loss… Control is directly related to this inability to let go and let someone else take on and move ahead. Holding onto baggage in any form as a leader is detrimental to the organisation. We cannot take all the decisions nor can we control the actions of all those on our teams. Letting go means to learn to trust and have faith in your people and nurture them in a way that you can hand it off with enough comfort to know that it will be done and will be done well.
Learning to delegate and involving the team in the planning process and staying transparent consciously can help build the right attitude for the teams to function in. Also, when you build a circle of trust with your people, the task becomes a lot easier.
Micromanagement is not cool; you cannot control every move of someone, and you cannot be always around. Yes, there is stress and anxiety and pressure and goals to meet and targets to chase but don’t let the baggage of the past chain down the potential of your future…
Focus on what needs to get done and then let the how get defined by the people who are getting the job done. Failing is inevitable, so its about failing fast and learning from it. Communicate the right way to ensure everyone is on the same page, hold them accountable to the outcomes expected of them. Coach, support and give feedback consistently to get them the support they need.
Change is innate and our inherent behaviour is to resist it, embrace it, breathe and allow for it to take you with its flow and let go… There is freedom and joy in cleansing the hold of our past on our lives. Let go and let go with confidence and kindness.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Be the first to comment on "Let go and lead…"