Identity: What Anchors a Leader?
Over the past several years, I’ve had the privilege of sitting around hundreds of leadership tables. Family-owned businesses. Fast-growing companies, churches, nonprofits, executive teams. And here’s what I’m learning, no matter the industry, one truth continues to emerge. The greatest challenge facing organizations today isn’t a lack of talent, or strategy, or the economy. Leaders are simply carrying more pressure than ever before – and many are trying to carry it without a solid foundation.
When pressure increases, something always gets exposed. Patience erodes, confidence becomes control, urgency explodes into anxiety, communication becomes reactive. And the organization begins to feel what the leader is carrying.
Every leader stands on something. For some, it’s success, for others it’s the approval of the board, their employees, or their clients. Some build their identity on results, position, money or influence.
The problem is that all of those things can change …. In an instant.
Grounded leaders are different. They know who they are before the pressure comes. Their decisions are anchored by deeply held values – not shifting circumstances or unsteady markets. When criticism comes, they don’t lose themselves. When success comes, they don’t become arrogant. When failure comes, they don’t become paralyzed they prioritize their foundation. They understand that it’s what is at their core that sets them apart and allows them to lead differently.
Grounded leaders know their “why”. Why do they do what they do? They’ve taken the time to get granular with their personal mission and vision, and they’ve discovered what their personal core values are. These become the internal compass that guides them when the going gets tough.
They are self-aware and aware of the people around them, they are the same in the conference room as they are on the playground with their kids. They know what they stand for and what they stand on. They have a clear Identity of who they are, and that determines how they lead
If you don’t know what you stand for before you step into the role of leader, pressure will decide for you. Healthy organizations don’t begin with better strategies. They begin with grounded leaders with an Anchored Identity.
At Collective Co we believe healthy organizations are built by Grounded Leaders. So what does it mean to be grounded? Grounded Leadership is built on three characteristics: Identity, Presence and Capacity. Join us over the next three weeks as we unpack these three elements of Grounded Leadership.
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