My friend, 

I stepped WAY outside my comfort zone to join the Polar Rush 6K winter obstacle course for SickKids Foundation this weekend; here’s how I used my 7 pillars of “good, enough leadership” to get through the most challenging obstacles:

𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: Joining this challenge was a last-minute decision, and I was physically unprepared for it – having taken a break from cardio for say, 2 years 🤦‍♀️ . I was nervous about the obstacles that lay ahead, but decided to do it anyway, staying curious about the fun that could be had from effectively playing outside in the snow all afternoon.

𝟮. 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗿𝗲: Packs of super-fit and shirtless guys ran past me on the trails (one of whom was wearing angel wings), LEAPING Navy Seal style over obstacles. Yay them for owning who THEY are 🏃‍♂️ . I chose to own who I am by going at my own pace, pushing myself past my perceived limits – and opting out of the ones that looked like an injury waiting to happen.

𝟯. 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: I joined the challenge with my husband and 8 of his friends I’d yet to meet; we kicked off the day laughing, bonding over our love of Taylor Swift, and stories of weekend adventures. We were each open about our goals for the day, and made a pact to go as slowly as we needed – leaving no one behind – adjusted as we went checking for consensus along the way, and asked for help from our teammates to climb a ropes course, and get through the multitude of elastics we needed to traverse, Catherine Zeta-Jones style 🧗‍♂️ .

𝟰. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘆: It would have been easy for the perfectionist in me – my self-sabotage of choice – to quit early or opt-out entirely, knowing I would have to do this “less perfectly” than others. I pep-talked myself into reframing this as a new experience that would forge new connections AND a lot of fun (tubing down an ice hill, I’m talking to you 🛷).

𝟱. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 “𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵” 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲: Army crawling up an icy incline under a tarp was HARD, especially followed by the ‘wall of pain’ 200m incline navigating ice and mud underfoot. Having a sense of accomplishment from both felt like enough for me – and I didn’t feel the need to prove myself by completing all of the other obstacles 🏆 .

𝟲. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵: Leading with integrity means doing what you say you’ll do. Showing up and going all in WHILE respecting my own boundaries defined that for me 🤸‍♀️ .

𝟳. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁: Every good leader knows the importance of cultivating balance through work and play; Sunday was reserved on my couch with a great Oscar Nominee.

My friend, y𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢…or the forest: my 7 pillars of good, enough leadership set you up for success across each cornerstone areas in your life. 

Book a call with me now and let’s tap into your best possible leadership qualities so you can live, lead, and succeed on your terms.

Leisse