You want to be part of an organization that hears you.
You’ve got ideas, but you’re not sure your CEO or board of directors is truly listening.
And the extent to which your ideas for new initiatives are acted upon is important.
It helps you feel heard.
Valued.
And given your level, you’d appreciate being trusted to do some early heavy lifting on evaluating new business.
Simply put, you want some autonomy for crafting strategy.
Managing capital decisions.
Setting the tone for culture and values.
You want to orchestrate transformation, rather than being stuck in perpetual maintenance mode.
But you don’t control your destiny.
Or could you?
What if you could start trusting the process?
Trusting the process means you’re looking for purpose in your circumstances and not just looking to blame others for those conditions.
You understand that all experiences have value, and you continually look for opportunities for learning in the situations that come your way. They are guideposts.
But don’t confuse finding a purpose with finding a reason.
When you’re looking for a reason, you find yourself asking, “Why is this happening to me?” with the goal of assigning blame.
When this happens, you end up questioning yourself, your motivation, your qualifications, etc., and you could very easily create a crisis of performance, which only adds more unwelcome negativity.
You’re in danger of fulfilling your own prophecy.
Instead of pointing fingers at people and situations you can’t control, take responsibility for what you want.
- Ask the CEO or board what they value in a leader.
- Ask how you can demonstrate and practice those qualities.
- Ask what it would take for you to give them more confidence in your leadership.
And work out a plan to get you there.
When you’re looking for a purpose rather than a reason, you ask questions that lead you to moments of growth and learning.
So instead of asking why your CEO or board doesn’t trust you to the level you’d like, ask yourself, “What can I do to better demonstrate my leadership capabilities, so that I will have earned their trust?”
Set your leadership eyes on growth and mastery rather than doubt and fear.
Take responsibility for what you want.