Leslie R. Reid - - Willingness to Stretch - Lesson #2

[Leslie]

A. Ask Refer to the assessment that you invited your colleagues to fill out.

What were some areas where there were opportunities for your growth?
My evaluators believed I should:

Use my natural drive to uplift my team not as a detriment to the team.

Pay attention to the needs of the staff - - anticipating/acknowledging their issues

To be more intentional about analyzing the impact of decisions on the team

Replace my “what should be done” mindset with “what can be done with support” mindset



How might the feedback you were given inform your stretch assignment work?

There is a need for me to ask for help, ease my control over tasks and delegate primary roles to my team in order to build our collective confidence and competence. My stretch assignment is designed to force me to lean more on my team to develop our plan of action. Based on the 360 evaluation, I need to make stronger connections to my team by creating joint opportunities to learn and grow with each other. I am willing to convey my trust and reliance on their professional abilities.



Please make a note of a few areas where you would like to improve based on your own assessment of your skills and those of your colleagues.

I would like to improve the work responsibility balance. I take on most of the responsibility  and then resent the laid-back stance of others. I would like to build and sustain meaningful relationships within my team and be able to actively support our collective growth. I need to learn to ask for help when I need it from my team.

B. How might being vulnerable improve YOUR leadership? In what areas do you hold yourself back because of a fear? What will you do to overcome that fear?

I think showing my vulnerabilities will free me up to express what I need from others and help me to be seen as approachable. It could set the tone for collaboration and explain my “ALWAYS” drive toward excellence. Showing my vulnerabilities might give people a glimpse behind my “having it all together” mask. The mask that I put on to make it through really is my shield to cover my fear. Brene Brown said “If you expose your vulnerable side - - you can no longer control and predict. I have a strong need to control and predict outcomes - - because in mind if I don’t take control and direct outcomes there is the possibility that I fail. Ms. Brown also said, “with vulnerability you win your life back”, for me this is akin to just taking a deep cleansing breath and letting go. So much of this is tied to fear, the same fear I push back against. This fear leads to the feelings that I don’t truly belong in the places I have worked hard to get do. I hold myself back in situations where, trust has not been established and in instances where I have to depend on others. This is my opportunity for growth. I am willing to stretch my sphere of discomfort and give myself permission to be authentic in my interactions. I will embrace the situations that make me afraid, express to others when something is difficult for me, admit what I don’t know and ask for help without shame.

D. Check in with your mentor as you consider your stretch assignment. Post your stretch assignment on the board and describe how it will enhance your leadership. Willingness to stretch

STRETCH ASSIGNMENT

My stretch is letting go of my need to control every aspect of a project for fear of failure and learning to rely on my team and trust they will come through using their own creativity, vision and judgement.

I will delegate key components of our June Participant event to my two colleagues based on their talents and interests

I will give them a blank slate and ask that we each take a key component and communicate our plans to each other in order to maintain balance

I will ask them to construct an event that is appropriate for our participants

I will solicit a timeline from them regarding when we should report back our progress/challenges

I will not give them a template or set the parameters based on how I see the event 
In a true collaborative effort, I will not lead but rather be a team player.

Finally, I will work on transforming these "I" statements into "We" actions.

[gdidona]

Hi Leslie, Thank you so much for being so open and vulnerable in your post! I love your idea for your stretch assignment! You articulated really well how this is going to be a stretch for you. Your comment about having feelings that you truly don't belong in the places you have worked hard to get to really resonated with me, and brought back last week's reading about faker's (or imposter's) syndrome. Something we did not talk about in last week's class was that studies have found that imposter's syndrome is most often found in high achievers who are unable to internalize and accepts their success. There's also an insidious cycle to imposter's syndrome - since a person doesn't want to be found out as an imposter, they won't talk about it to anyone for fear of being found out.

As you are saying, being able to say, "I don't know everything" is not only personally freeing, but is also a great role model for staff.

I wish you a lot of luck on your stretch assignment. It may not be easy, but I am fairly certain that it is going to yield a lot of benefits.

[jennfriesen]

Leslie, as always, your post is insightful. Thank you for being so open and vulnerable in your response. I know you are really thinking and processing all of the discussions you have had regarding your stretch assignment. Trust you gut. I think you are on the right track, you just need to find a way to convey why it is a stretch and really talk about the process for you.