Hi, I’m Leslie Jones. I am the creator of the SpiralMethod. This is a groundbreaking leadership development ecosystem for communities and companies. I have been an executive coach and facilitator for 25 years now working with major corporations, small to midsize companies, CEOs and C-suite leadership teams. I’m on a mission to end the disconnection gap that we’ve found ourselves in. I teach leaders how to have group conversations that bring a level of connection and power to any group of people that brings a level of collaboration and results that we haven’t even known as possible.
Today, I want to talk about getting yourself ready to lead during these challenging times and making sure that you’re ready to bring powerful leadership forward. In order to talk about moving forward, we have to acknowledge the past for a moment.
The norm has been polarity, arguing, lots of conversation around opinions; who’s right and who’s wrong, unfocused attention, withdrawal, action without traction. Take that and apply that to your own team and to your own life, take what fits, throw out what doesn’t fit. We just don’t have time for any of that anymore, period. There’s no time. Each of us and everyone around us needs to step up and step in and lean in. In order to lean in now we’re going to have to develop new capabilities. There’s not an authority or a system that’s going to come handle this. I think that that’s why you’re here because you know that you are the one and you’re going to be leading right now to help us move forward.
This is a huge opportunity for us to create anew and be done with the inefficiencies and patterns of the past and create the new world that we want to be living in. Precise, calm action is what is going to be needed as we move forward. There is a lot of good news, When there’s an event or a situation that causes everything to be put into question, it wakes us up! We’re being woken up to what’s important and we can’t help it anymore. What’s important is coming right into focus and we’re beginning to see what really matters and we need to have our attention and our action in alignment with what truly matters and what’s important right now. Intentional, precise action is what’s needed and we do need to keep moving.
We need to move smarter and move more slowly. Things are going to happen at a different pace and in different ways now, but intentional, precise action is critical, not hamster wheel action. We all know what that feels like and we’ve all seen it, but precise, intentional action is what matters. When I think about what matters, I think about people, resources, and health. It’s really key that the way that we respond right now defines what the future is going to look like and it defines the kind of leaders that we are. One more thing I want to mention before I jump into some questions… We have all the answers and the wisdom inside of us. So, in order to lead a group of people, we have to have done the work ourselves, first.
When we slow down we bring a level of awareness to our own system, our reactions, our emotions, our fear, our tendency for the hamster wheel as places where there’s fluff or unimportant things that we’ve been paying attention to. The awareness that we allow ourselves to have helps us to focus and get ourselves into a place of intention and grounded, calm, precision. Then our teams will follow. The people around us want that. So, we’ve got to do our work first and then we bring it to our people.
I have some questions for you:
- What is the fluff, first of all, what are the unimportant things you’ve allowed yourself to spend time on? This includes the ways of thinking, ways of being and the things that you’ve been doing that are just no longer appropriate. Arguing, right and wrong conversations, withdrawal, sugarcoating, pretending… These are some examples.
- Secondly, what are your first automatic and predictable reactions to the unknown? Again, how you are responding and what is getting in the way of your calm, precise action. This is really important for you to know. Then you can guide others on this path. Maybe you’re saying to yourself or others “buck up” or you get really demanding or you start to hide out a little bit. Maybe you’re someone who just mobilizes really quickly and takes practical action. Just look at your first automatic predictable reactions.
- What do you want and need to develop in yourself to meet the current challenges we all must develop new capabilities. So what are those for you right now.
- How can you best serve your constituents?
- What do they need and what new habits do you need to create now to ensure your best leadership?
You are the one, the time is now.
Please join us on our “Connection Revolution” group Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/783284838860284/
We’re all in this together. Thank you.
