“The willingness to show up changes us. It makes us a little braver each time.”
~Brené Brown

Sometimes leading is scary. Sometimes life is scary.

Sometimes something comes our way, and we don’t know how to handle it. We don’t know how to have the tough conversation with our colleague, or to tell our direct report what needs to change, or to tell our manager that we can’t take on a project.

Sometimes we just want to run the other way.

It’s at times like that, that just showing up may be actually all we need to do. Or even just to be willing to show up.

To sit down with our colleague and be open to a conversation. To ping our direct report and take them out to lunch, and tell them what they need to know. To ask our manager for a few minutes and come clean on our struggles.

Just starting to talk to the other person is a great first step. Just reaching out to the person to tell them we want to talk to them is a great first step. Each time we show up like this, we change, and each time we show up like this we get a little bit stronger. And braver.

You may have thought that leadership is easy once you get the hang of it. It’s not. Life – and leadership – continues to throw difficulties in our path. It continues to ask more of us – at times – than we think we have to give. It continues to challenge us to question what we think we know, re-explore what we have already decided, and push ourselves past what we think are our limits.

And each time we simply show up, we grow. And we get braver and stronger.

When have you been willing to just show up?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.


For support in showing up, even when it’s tough to, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.

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