Being humble is a great way to go about tackling a new challenge.
Humble keeps you grounded (the word actually comes from latin humus, that means earth), and it frees you from the need of having all the answers. When you are humble, you have time to explore, to audit, to find out, and eventually to make up your mind with a new set of information you wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Ideally, relationships are established in good times.
It is more challenging to do that when the crisis hits, when everyone is occupied saving their neck, when nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. There’s a sense of individualism that grows in dire times, preventing the reciprocity needed to build and cultivate relationships.
The only thing that can be done now then, in this moment of unprecedented unknowns, is forget about the reciprocity and just give. Is there anything you own that could be useful out there? Do you have anything to say that could lift the spirit of those most distressed? Is the message you have to deliver looking at a positive future, or is it dilating stress and urgency beyond the here and now?
Marketers should be careful out there these days, the risk in terms of reputation is really high.
Two things about leadership I got reminded about in the past week.
First, if you want to start a conversation on a challenging problem, do not put your idea forward. Not in the beginning, not in the middle, not at the end. Sit down and listen instead, and see if some elements of your idea can support somebody else’s idea.
Second, if somebody comes to you with a question, a problem, something to share, listen to them. Saying that you are busy, that it’s not important, that you don’t care (right now) is equivalent to breaking the relationship. If you really cannot listen now, apologise and go back to it later. It will be worth it.
Leadership is tough job. Hope you are getting the support you need.
Fear means you care.
Fear means you will think twice.
Fear means long-term matters to you.
Fear means you are learning.
Fear means you are not alone.
Fear is good, and when you accept it in your life, name it, verbalize it, it is a lot less scary than you think.
Why are you so involved in this quarrel?
It is an honest question to ask yourself, particularly when things stall and no progress is made towards a resolution.
More often than not, we discuss to feed our ego.
Of course, we believe our perspective is the right one (the people we are discussing with do believe theirs is too). But deep down, we do not know. And experience should tell us that minimum variations to a plan, to a campaign, to a project, do not return major fluctuations in the outcome under most circumstances.
So, why are you so involved in this quarrel?
Consider the scenario in which you win, and see if the impact on the context you are seeking to affect would be bigger than the time, the energy, the foregone opportunities you are investing right now.
Making a step back and giving way is probably the most productive thing you can do. That’s a way to cultivate the focus you need to change the world.
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