28 Sep Good Enough, Isn’t – Continuing Development from the C-Suite
Reading Time: 3 minutes“We took a program on the bottom… we took it to the very top… for nine straight years… nine straight January 1 bowl games… nobody had ever done it before. Nobody has done it since. We put it on top and we maintained it. And that’s the thing I regret the most. You see there’s a rule in life that says you’re either growing… or your dying… Even though you’ve done great things so far – what’s going to happen now?” Lou Holtz – legendary Notre Dame football coach in 2015
You’ve arrived. You’re a successful senior executive. You’ve worked hard to get there, and you’ve learned that powerful communication was an important part of the journey … the last critical link between you and the success you’ve driven.
So… what’s gong to happen next?
Those who commit to the communication journey never really want it to end because through it they experience even deeper connection: with themselves, so they feel more in touch with their power and their passions… and with others who, as a result, feel more fully involved and acknowledged.
A greater and deeper connection with self and others is the ultimate goal of the communication journey. That’s not only what speaking is about, it’s what life and leadership is all about – continuing to work toward deeper connection with, and understanding of, yourself. It’s about taking the risk of sharing that self and through sharing, developing deeper connection with others.
Successful people believe that working on their communication will help them not only to be more successful in their business, but also to be more of who they are. They are committed to their own “becoming,” to bringing out the best that’s in them. For them, good enough just isn’t. They’re always stretching for that next goal.
The great enemy of those on the journey is getting stuck, staying put and simply maintaining. Regardless of what the next goal is, it’s critical that there is one… that you work as hard now as you ever have on using communication to bring more of who you are to the world you’ve chosen to lead.
So many people today are struggling to adjust to enormous change in almost every area of their lives. In business particularly the insistent message is that we must change to survive – in an information age, in a global marketplace, in a more diverse workforce. We’re constantly upgrading our skills, adjusting our attitudes, and revising expectations.
In an environment where so much is changing outside of us and so many people telling us what and how to be, it’s very hard for individuals to get and stay connected with themselves. It’s hard for them, first of all, to get in touch with their own feelings, with what they actually think, want, and believe… and then to find the courage to express it. Yet that progression is the key to personal fulfillment and professional success.
At Speakeasy we deal with many large clients from very large organizations that have access to sophisticated technology, audio-visual support and a lot of complex information to help them market their companies and their products. Yet we – and they – know success isn’t about standing up and rolling off a lot of content in a very professional way. All of that has to be a given. Success is really based on chemistry among people… each person asking him or herself, “Do I feel a connection here? Can I trust this?”
There are many ways to create that authentic chemistry, to build that trust… but the first and most critical step is accepting that the journey toward that end is the important thing. That the journey IS the destination.
Your success has earned you the opportunity. Now you have to use it… because, good enough, isn’t.
To learn more about The Leader’s Edge program click here.