There is a certain window for a new leader to establish themselves as bold, powerful, approachable, and worthy of being followed. I work with leaders on the presentation floor, which is often the big shareholders meetings. It could be a meeting with the team or broader team, and sometimes they’re hybrid meetings where it’s the shareholders plus a virtual connection to the rest of the team. They need to land powerfully. A lot of times I’m brought in because they came in a little soft, and there’s a certain window to get there, and that window is probably a year.
You really at some point have to own it. All the better if you just come right out of the chute that way, but you can still recover. You can build to that place of power, but people are expecting change. They want to see something different. They also want to see continuity.
I suggest new leaders focus on finding their new higher orbit. It’s time to change, and one of the things in the way of the new leader is resistance to change, resistance to being seen in a different light. You just took a leadership position. Step up. Find that higher orbit, and you’re going to glow and beam brighter, and audiences, your team, they need you to be bold. Someone who is worthy of following is strong, and someone that you’d want to follow is approachable.
That’s kind of a magnetic thing, like Earth’s North and South. These opposites create magnetism. Well, strong and approachable, those two things create a magnetism. A lot of times when leaders talk to me, they’re getting ready for their big shareholders presentation. There’s something they want to share. They’re not sure if they should because they know it’s got power, and they’re hesitant about sharing it because they might choke up or maybe it’s too sensitive. You know what? That’s the South Pole. North Pole is bold. If you build your strength and your confidence, you look people in the eyes, and you come out strong. You can also then share sensitively, and now you got the balance, you got your North South Pole going. It’s magnetism. If I only had one thing, it’d be strength. But I don’t want one thing. I want magnetism.
The strength shows people I’m worthy of following. The humility, the sharing of vulnerabilities, the sensitivity, sensitivity makes me someone that they would want to follow. I’d like you to consider focusing on those two things. Try to get the whole magnetism effect happening, and you’re going to do that by focusing on your bold and then focusing on something a little bit more vulnerable or sensitive. And if you could do those two things inside of that year window, you can step up and show the world something else. And if you need help to do it, you have to be very, very careful. Inside of the bubble of coaching, you’re going to rise up to that higher orbit, but when you walk out there, it’s the team that’s used to seeing me this way. You’re going to have to resist your instinct to retreat back to who you’ve always been because this is a time to step up and lead.
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