Not sure why this came to mind, well that’s not entirely true, my class was doing some fitness tests today and I thought the hands reaching for the numbers was a cool perspective.
What I’m not sure about is how it relates to my work. I guess the idea that I might be reaching beyond my capability, and asking myself if I have the capacity for the role? I think part of it is coming from the discomfort of a new role and unfamiliarity with an organization where you are largely expected to have the answers, and also comes from catching myself (a little late) falling into past habits of answering colleagues questions too directly. On reflection my response was coming from the mindset of “I should have the answer, I should give the answer”. It took about 3 seconds after responding for my brain to kick in and for me to think “well, $%&!, I could have definitely done that better”. I apologized to the colleague today and had the opportunity to practice “being better” in a couple of other meetings today with more success, but it was definitely a conscious effort and not something that is a natural response yet.
I guess a big part of the reach is feeling like I am constantly questioning each of my decisions, actions, and conversations finding that I am never totally happy with the outcome. I doubt I am the only one in a leadership role that feels this way, and I am not convinced it will ever go away. Maybe that’s the red flag, if it does go away I am at a point of complacency in the role where I am no longer effective.
Learning to Lead 