3 Things To Do When You Don't Have The Leader You Want (Hint Trump)
We are post US election and there is a new American President, Donald Trump - as of this writing there are millions of people overjoyed at his election and there are millions that are saddened and afraid.
This post is for those having a hard time accepting their new leader.
The entire election has been one of polarity female vs male, government experience vs business experience, bad vs good and so on.
As a Canadian I and many other Canadians have watched with interest and with trepidation the election process itself and the end result. There are a multitude of emotions going on fear of the unknown, concern for the world, and what it means for each person in the US and in the world.
We must acknowledge the emotions as well as notice the polarity within ourselves - the inner war that goes on between our good versions of self and our not so good versions of our self. This election was a clear message from the US collective that something had to change and the choice was a major disruption.
There are many leadership lessons in the entire process and there are also many things to learn as we evolve.
As Michelle Obama said so eloquently “When they go low, we go high” and that statement doesn’t apply to just the process towards the election that statement applies to the entire journey that is LIFE.
Perhaps you are working in a company right now and you do not like the CEO or your direct leader - this is life.
It is what we do with our situations that determine our individual peace of mind as well as inspire others to take the high road in very difficult situations.
Here are 3 things to do when you don’t have the leader you want:
1. Acknowledge your frustration, disappointment, and sadness - then recognize that you have the power to focus on what you have control over which is your own thoughts, behaviors and choices. In business there is the act of ‘leading up’ as well as leading those that work for you. We are all being called upon right now to “LEAD UP”. This means choosing to positively influence your leader - have a candid and caring conversation with him or her and talk about how you can work together better. Make a plan to get over your resistance to the reality and make a choice to ‘go high’. Focus on your personal leadership abilities to inspire and create change.
2. In my book, “The Art of Change Leadership - Driving Transformation In a Fast Paced World” I talk about the phases of change, denial, resistance, fear before we shift into creativity, optimism and future focused solutions. Where are you on the change cycle? Ultimately when faced with ANY disruption we have three choices we can accept it, change it or leave it. (the Canadian immigration website was broken on the night of the election so that tells us what some of the choices were after the election results). Truly though before you leave anything be it a relationship or a job we all must take the time to find ways to accept the reality, to focus on what WE can do to influence change and then if repeated and creative efforts fail THEN leaving is always an option.
3. Creativity is the key in times of major disruption - asking powerful questions that cause you to be creative is the best way to regain a sense of power and control over your situation. Questions such as “What is this situation calling me to discover about myself or about leadership? or “What is the opportunity for me/us in this situation?” Focusing on creativity provides energy and resource to self and others. Focusing on anger and sadness will lead to unhealthy conflicts. Choosing creativity means you can use the fuel of your emotions to call you forward to more and more creative solutions.
When faced with having a leader that you did not choose or that you cannot relate to it challenges on every level. When there is not a values match that is the biggest hurdle- the point is we are all being called upon to treat each other with the highest amount of dignity REGARDLESS of how others show up. This is the biggest test for all of us of our character, of our commitment to peace and inclusion.
Source: Cheryl Cran via Huffington Post
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