Does it seem to you the world has suddenly thrown open its doors? As the shutdowns end and the vaccines roll out, it seems like every group, team, business, and family is eager to race out of their homes and throw themselves headlong into togetherness once again, with all of the gatherings, appointments, meetings, and travel we’ve been missing all year.
And while it’s certainly refreshing to hug our grandparents again, see our friends and get back to work, you wouldn’t be alone if a part of you wants to hold back a bit from the hoopla and maybe even secretly harbors a quiet sense of dread.
Life as normal. Is that what we want?
In many ways, this summer—as we find ourselves reemerging back into the world after a global crisis – many of us are wondering what will be the same, what will be different, and what the future holds. What will our health be like now? What will happen to working remotely? Will our careers shift at all, or our career paths? All of these thoughts coming in waves can seem overwhelming, and a sense of fear may seem inevitable, if it weren’t for one critical strategy you can access at any time: personal leadership.
Personal leadership—a type of leadership where you lead yourself first so that you can create a balanced blend of work and life while choosing the quality of life you want to live—offers us a way to reflect and reconnect with what’s important as we face big questions about how we want to shape our lives in the times ahead. You have a precious window of time this summer to think about how you want to lead your life.
Before you dive nervously back into “life as normal,” give yourself the chance to think about “life as ideal.”
There are 10 practices of personal leadership, every one of which might be good food for thought as you think about how you want to re-emerge into the post-pandemic world.
- Get clarity. Find what it is you want, and give yourself permission to let that change as you look at the phase ahead.
- Find focus. Define focus areas that you will want to prioritize at this time of your life.
- Take action. Create an action plan that helps you not just focus on those priorities but take action to achieve your goals.
- Tap into your brilliance. Remember your personal strengths, so you can leverage what’s best about you and use your talents in the service of those goals.
- Feel fulfillment. Discover what motivates you and makes you happy. You can use that sense of fulfillment to direct any changes you want to make in your “new life.”
- Maximize your time. Think about the techniques that help you achieve more with less.
- Build your team. Surround yourself with people who can advise, champion, advance, and elevate you.
- Keep learning. Consider what you need to learn now and what form that learning might take, whether it’s coaching, counseling, taking a class, starting a degree program, reading, or just journaling more often to clarify your thoughts.
- See possibility. Stay open to things being different now – better – and listening to your intuition to see what’s possible that maybe you didn’t believe was possible before.
- All … All at once. Give yourself the opportunity to be aligned to what’s important to you – all of it, all at once.
We find ourselves in a rare moment in life where we can make our own choices about how we want to proceed with our lives going forward—using practical strategies from personal leadership will help you identify what you want with how you’ll achieve it.
…And you don’t have to do it alone! Pre-register for the course in the Getting an Edge course this fall to join a group of like-minded women dedicated to helping you reach your vision and goals. You’ll have access to the following resources to help you along the way:
- 12 live training webinars (with coaching) facilitated by Personal Leadership expert and coach, Erin Mecseji;
- 4 1-hour private coaching sessions;
- 4 virtual meet-ups. Dedicated time for additional coaching, strategizing, learning and/or accountability;
- Recordings of all monthly calls and virtual meet-ups;
- The book: The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership;
- The Inner Edge Leadership Assessment;
- A Welcome Packet of course materials, including helpful handouts, strategic best practices, and additional resources;
- Inner Edge Insights Monthly Newsletter to supplement and extend your learning.
Registration for the Getting an Edge course is now open!