When Bobbie LaPorte got together with friends and colleagues for the San Francisco Giants’ Opening Day a couple of weeks ago, she noticed a strong sense of optimism in everyone there—and it wasn’t just excitement about the baseball game or her new book. After all we’ve been through these last few years, leaders are learning how to see challenges as openings to see WHAT IS POSSIBLE. In her April 25 “Your Best Next Move” video, Bobbie shares a simple tip that you can use to deal with the next curveball that comes your way.
Transcript of Your Best Next Move: Dealing With Defeatism in Uncertain Times
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly leadership tip for your Best Next Move, where I help you see continuing curveballs as an opportunity. This year, I will help you actively use your personal agency to accelerate what you want to accomplish in 2022.
This week I want to share an observation – after more than two years of writing these “tips” to deal with the unrelenting uncertainty of our times.
Last week, I was fortunate to have a number of clients, colleagues and friends join me at the San Francisco Giants Opening Day to launch my new book, “When the Curveballs Keep Coming: A Leadership Playbook for an Uncertain World.” And despite that fact that we are still definitely living and leading in a world of uncertainty, what I heard from everyone was a true sense of optimism for what was ahead for them – across all the domains of their lives.
I don’t believe that these leaders presented a false sense of reality in light of the celebration we were there for. It felt to me like they had achieved a realization of what is possible now, despite the curveballs that seem to be hitting us with increasing frequency.
I am not being Pollyannaish about this; it is easy to get derailed with all that is facing us, to give in and then give up.
I felt like that myself over the last few weeks; a kind of defeatism about what I am trying to accomplish; weighed down by all the “obstacles” I felt were in my way; a “why should I bother?”
But that is exactly the opposite of what we all need to be doing. Seeing challenges as openings to what is possible is the core strategy of my book, and of my work.
The key is to pause when a curveball hits, to consider the opportunity this presents to build capacity in yourself and your team; to strengthen key relationships or tap into the skills of others; to consider a response that answers the question:
“What is the best thing for the business?”
Here’s my tip for this week:
Don’t be a victim when organizational curveballs hit. It’s not about you – at least not the way you might think about it – like” Why me, why now?”
But…it is about you. It’s about your contribution to a solution, how you can make your best next move one that helps the organization become more adept at managing curveballs.
That’s my tip for this week.
For more help on using your personal agency to make uncertainty a part of your success strategy for 2022 – check on my new book – “When the Curveballs Keep Coming: A Leadership Playbook for an Uncertain World,” and my new online course – “Leading Through Uncertainty.”
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