The first step to being the leader others will follow is recognizing where you want changes and letting yourself dream of your ideal leadership destination. This can be one of the hardest things to do, because it requires you to carve out time to focus on yourself, which can be nearly impossible for healthcare leaders who are used to putting others first and running on all cylinders. But taking the time to assess in writing what you want from your career and your personal life is a crucial first step, so you’ll need to do whatever it takes to carve out that time: Schedule a date with yourself in your calendar, find an accountability partner, give yourself a reward for doing it, or withhold a reward until you do – whatever it takes for you to be accountable to yourself.
To start, ask yourself these questions:
What kind of role would you have? In what kind of organization?
What skills would you be using?
How do you want to show up as a leader? A spouse? A parent? A friend?
What is the difference you want your leadership to make – for your team, your organization, your community, the world?
What would it take to do more of what you most love to do and be the best version of yourself?
What would it get you if you could make those changes? What would your life be like? How would it feel?
The really hard part here is to let yourself dream – pay attention to where you might be thinking “if only….” or “ya but….” Or where you are shooting yourself down with phrases like “I can’t...” Or where you might be concerned about other people’s judgment. It’s important to put those barriors in check for now so you can dream freely.
I’m a bit of a “wannabe” scientist. One of the things I love about coaching is that it is all grounded in neuroscience. The process of letting yourself think about big possibilities and tapping into the emotions associated with achieving those possibilities – and writing things down – actually activates different parts of and different chemicals in your brain that can lead to creating new brain circuits … new ideas … a shift in your motivation and energy … and a shift in your executive presence.
So, pretend you have a magic wand that could erase any obstacles and just let yourself imagine what it would feel like to be in that position and be that kind of leader. Write about what that would be like and create your vision.
Please let me know how this exercise worked for you by commenting below.
