As leaders (both of our own careers
and the businesses we lead) we need
to continually push things up a notch,
question and challenge the ‘status
quo’ and always strive to maintain and
develop new standards of excellence.
We need to feel comfortable with the
fact that we won’t always have all of the
answers in stepping out of our comfort
zone and we need to stop treading that
same, familiar safe path. When we
do we will drive both our careers and
Changing career paths, taking on a
bigger or more diverse role, proposing
new ways of doing business, voicing
an opinion that is not shared by the
consensus or standing up publicly
to share your thoughts and views all
requires a high degree of internal
strength, conviction and bravery.
The reality is being brave can be hard.
It is often much easier to sit back and
do what we have always done and coast
along than to do something different
THE REALITY IS THAT BEING BRAVE IS HARD.
IT IS OFTEN MUCH EASIER TO SIT BACK AND
DO WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE AND COAST
ALONG, THAN TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT
THAT MIGHT EXPOSE US TO THE WORLD.
our businesses forward to new levels of that might expose us to the world. It is
success and create future opportunities. however by allowing exposure that you
progress and develop any real value in
When facing big decisions, new
your career and business.
challenges or a changed environment,
the saying ‘we are our own worst
The good news is that bravery is
enemies’ often rings true for many
something that we are all capable of.
of us. At the heart of it is fear – fear
It has little to do with status, position,
of failure, fear of what others think,
title or income. We can all choose to
fear of not being good enough. The
live bravely in what we do on a daily
expectations, limitations and fears
basis. Following are a couple of tips to
that circle in our minds so often stop
help you do just that:
us maximizing not only our current
opportunity but also our true capability.
GLOSS JUNE 2015 37