Last year at this time I talked about Appreciations – Challenges – Successes, reflecting on some learnings from the previous year. As it was a helpful exercise, I’ve decided to repeat that for 2023. So here we go...
Appreciations – Impact Oriented Leaders
This year we have a new member on the executive team, and I’m thankful for that. To orient him to our work, we visited a number of our clients. Those visits were energizing for me – seeing the work of community-focused leaders in action. Their perspectives were enlightening, their visions inspiring, and their tenacity in pursuit of a common good was deeply uplifting. Pursuit of impact is not easy – but these leaders are doing it anyway (to see more on this, check out the resources section below). I might rename this section Inspirations.
Challenges – What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
This is a mantra many entrepreneurs of growing companies have shared with me over the years, and one which I’ve lived myself. It’s also the title of a book by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter – check it out. What it takes to get through one phase of growth will not be the same as what it takes to get through the next phase. Leadership approaches, systems, resources, processes, technology – you name it – will need to change. I know this, yet this year it has hit home more deeply and personally. The concept is really about how leaders have to become conscious of their own annoying traits and ways of being in order to foster their own personal growth. Fostering personal growth is what allows anyone to
take “it” (your company, your training, your art or craft) to the next level. I learned that lesson hard this year and understand that learning about how we show up in the world, and how we might show up for ourselves, and others, is a constant journey of leadership.
Successes - Working with authenticity brings returns
A number of times this year I’ve experienced situations in which the reputation of ResultsLab proceeded us. And, thanks to the incredible work of our team, that reputation is a good one. One of our company values is Pursue Impact. I see our team working toward this with every client by genuinely centering their interest and the interests of those they serve. This results in positive impact and change for our clients. It’s allowed me to experience moments like: someone coming up to me at a conference saying they were so excited for our session because they follow our work, a client coming to us this month to say they wanted to extend a significant set of work, and a CEO I met recently who is new to her role saying
she knows ResultsLab and has heard great thing about our work. Of course, I love these things, what CEO wouldn’t? And these things are only happening because our team authentically works in pursuit of impact. That is a success.
As we move into the end of the year, and on to a new one, may your challenges beget successes, and your successes inspire appreciation.
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