SigmaU Blog

What’s “the Suck?”

The suck is losing the big contract that you had your heart set on. The suck is being in quarantine with a limited lifestyle for over a year and counting. The suck is the lost friendship, broken marriage and devastating loss of trust. The suck is working on a project for four months, putting your heart and soul into it and seeing it fall completely flat before your very eyes! The suck comes in various forms and knocks us off kilter in different ways. We all experience it from time to time. Often it hits us over and over again and in business it can leave us feeling lonely and frustrated.

Why it hurts so much!

When we feel like failures and setbacks are coming at us from all sides, it can feel like our world is closing in on us. It hurts when we have finances on the line. It hurts when we show up, give our best and we get rejected. We question our competence and our resilience. I recently went through a massive failure that devastated me and so I...

Do you do your best work when you fly by the seat of your pants? Not me! I’m a planner, in fact I don’t wing ANYTHING!

In order to show up as a strong leader and role model, I have to be intentional about it. It doesn’t come naturally but when I make it a priority it positively impacts the team.

Here are 4 ways you can be more intentional as a leader today!

1.  Map it Out!

Start your day off thinking about and writing down who you want to show up as that day. Perhaps it’s thinking about your phone calls, interactions, coaching with employees or meetings. How would your best self show up? Decide early in the day while you’re fresh how you can be most effective as a leader. You can also check out our super popular Intentional Journals here: https://www.growwithsigmau.com/books.

2.  Set Intentions before Interactions

Oprah famously starts each meeting asking, “What are the intentions of this meeting?” This is a great way to gain clarity...

When I’m afraid or feeling stressed my ego takes over! Bold statement, I know, but it’s true. I show up rude, sarcastic and I can be short with people.  When I’m leading as my best self and I’m intentional about how I want to show up as a leader, it’s a totally different story.

I’d venture to guess that as a leader, you may be able to relate. When you’re under pressure you just want things done and done properly with minimal questions and minimal interruptions so you can work on what’s most important.  This happens to most of us when we’re in reactive mode vs. being proactive and intentional.

Here are some telltale signs that I’m under pressure and my ego has taken over…

I assume the worst intentions. I have moments where I doubt the intentions of those around me and question if my team did all that they could in a situation vs. assuming the best in others.

When I’m operating from my ego, my ideas are...

If you’re a growth-oriented and innovative company then courage should definitely be a part of your culture. It takes guts to be different, to challenge the status quo and to set BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) for your company!

To execute and navigate through unknown territory takes courage and it’s not enough for the leader to be courageous. Courage needs to be woven through the organization.

Show Courage as a Leader

Like most things, courage will require you as a leader setting an example for your team. My old coach Lindsay used to always say “Leaders get the behaviours they display or tolerate.” So how can you be an example of courage? Courage as a leader isn’t necessarily about control or leading the charge. In fact, courage as a leader shows up when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone. When you’re vulnerable by putting yourself out there on social media for example. It’s being courageous enough to admit to the team when...

I have not always had energy. I have not always wanted to jump out of bed and start my day. I have dreaded a work week and lived for the weekends.

There was a time, when I was so depressed that I didn’t want to leave the house and rarely did so. I remember sitting on the couch and it was the day of a friend’s wedding and I wept because I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, and I didn’t want them to see how out of shape I was! In fact, I hid from social media for several years for fear of judgement about my appearance!

So when I recently had someone comment that I “always” have so much energy, I felt like I needed to share a bit of my journey with you and share that I wasn’t a miracle. It was small, incremental habits and changes that have brought me to a place where I feel like I’m living a ZESTY life!

Z – Zealous Belief

One habit I needed to adopt was a zealous belief that what I did mattered and that my...