Turn on the Light

Rise and Stride is a weekly newsletter for high-achieving women, focused on personal growth as leadership development, and exploring the inner balance that succeeds. The future of leadership success is already here.

Apathetic.

Burned out.

Consumed.

Disconnected.

The A-B-C-D grades that lead to the F of leadership failure.

If any of these words describe your current experience as a high-achieving woman, welcome to a surprising solution. Today, Rise and Stride launches four weeks of exploring leadership joy!

Traditional support mechanisms offer iffy antidotes to tired, cynical leaders. Women are advised to overcome leadership ennui by: saying no to non-essential commitments; limiting who has access, when, and for how long; and passing tasks to others.

But these solutions—say No, set limits, and delegate—all emanate from a victim stance. Even adoption of a micro-mindfulness practice to ground between meetings can wind up feeling like recovery from a whack in the head.

Instead of the dissociated darkness of leadership by no, not now, and no thanks, flip the switch and turn on the light. The receipts of my leadership journey shout from the shadows: Choice! Agency! Responsibility!

Apathy is easily overwhelmed by “leadership agency.” That is—ownership of your power, paired with considered action, creates apathy’s opposite: commitment. Burn-out fades when you acknowledge choices. That awful feeling of being eaten alive by task and time is swallowed whole by “organic responsibility,” unpolluted by shame and groveling.

Leadership victimhood and isolation give way and you find a deeper connection with your purpose and passion.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. ~Martha Graham, U.S. dancer and choreographer

Your greatest success in leadership emerges when you radiate optimism and positivity. Rather than pretending all is well while ignoring evidence to the contrary, relax into believing that all is well. That shift from pretense to certainty changes everything.

Rather than delegate, celebrate! Public recognition of recent and current labors—others’ inputs and yours—stimulates continued effort. As you share and savor together the flavor of success, you and your team create a can-do appetite for the next “course.” You won’t need to delegate. They’ll step up, hungry for more success.

People fall forward to success. ~Mary Kay Ash, U.S. entrepreneur and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Also, dear leader, in the privacy of your own heart and mind, pause sometimes—for one long inhale and exhale—and simply feel pride in your accomplishments. The report is finished and submitted. Without immediately moving to the next challenge, just live in that moment. Pause and notice your good work, pat yourself on the back, or stand up and do a little happy dance. Let ‘em watch!

In fact, as you tap into your playful side, your leadership light dispels more of your apathy and burn-out, as well as chasing off the ennui of a whole team or organization. Your full success requires you to fully shine, uniquely and authentically. You absolutely never have to hide your light.

But sometimes, you do need to seek a different venue - one a little less dimly lit - where your light isn’t the only source of illumination.