Are You Actually As Tenacious As You Think You Are?
Often, we’re taught that surviving something means that we handled it tenaciously. But just because we survived something doesn't mean we did so tenaciously.
So, what does it actually mean to have tenacity?
Tenacious leadership can help you stay energized and avoid burnout even while managing the most challenging situations. It’s a deeper level of capacity than resilience offers.
When we’re tenacious, we grow despite crisis or change. But when we simply white-knuckle our way through, we’re practicing more short-term resilience.
Read the full article here to consider these simple yet powerful questions that will help you assess your own leadership tenacity. Click here.
https://tenaciousleadershipinstitute.com/blog-posts/2023/7/23/are-you-actually-as-tenacious-as-you-think-you-are
The challenges faced by leaders today are unlike any we’ve seen before. Without the right tools, practices and foundation, we cannot expect ourselves to grow as leaders or as people when we are preoccupied with putting out fires and pushing through challenges.
Take a moment to consider how you felt after struggling through your leadership during the pandemic. Like many, you may have felt exhausted or burned out (and may still feel that way).
To better understand whether you have developed leadership tenacity, let’s take a closer look at the distinguishing factors. Consider the signs of tenacity being present versus the sign of it being absent shown below as a way to evaluate your tenacity status.
Ask yourself a few key questions to assess whether you are actually as tenacious as you think you are (and hope to be):
1. Do you find that you are in “reactive mode” more than 50% of your day? Are you reacting to situations around you rather than deliberately leading them? Ideally you are in “proactive mode” 80% of your day. Tenacious leaders take an upstream approach, preventing problems before they start and building capacity for change before it arrives.
2. Are you operating with short-term thinking? You look out 30 - 90 days but not further. You may attribute it to all the change that is underway but the most tenacious leaders operate first with a more long-term, strategic approach then translate that into a short-term plan. Ideally you find time each week to do some level of strategic planning to shift out of short-term reactivity.
3. Do you value good leadership but find yourself saying, “I just don’t have time to do what it takes to be a really good leader right now.” This is absolutely understandable given the last few years but, a truly tenacious leader understands how important effective leadership is at this point in the journey to help people not only navigate but thrive amidst all the change we are facing in organizations and the world. Ideally you would identify your leadership blindspots and begin addressing them right away so that you can be the best leader for those that need you.
These are just a few of the questions we explore in our Tenacious Leadership workshop and executive coaching programs. Ready to build your tenacity? Hit reply and we’ll set up a short call to talk more.
Your Leadership Practice
In the upcoming week, take time to begin addressing one of the above questions. Reflect on the question, consider how you could take new action to become a more tenacious leadership. Notice your own resistance to change how you lead and take that as an opportunity to shift and strengthen your leadership (rather than not take action).
About Athena
Athena Williams, Founder and CEO of Tenacious Leadership Institute, has been supporting leaders worldwide to become more tenacious for over 20 years. She has found that tenacity is the key to sustained leadership success in today’s ever-changing world. Through her coaching and leadership development programs, she helps leaders expertly handle change, complexity and other challenges so they can quickly get better results for themselves, their teams and their organizations. Take the first step to becoming a tenacious leader by scheduling a call with us.
