How We As Leaders Give Our Leadership Power Away

Have you ever watched a football game on TV?  Of course you have. Ever seen a really bad play that clearly did not go the way the Head Coach or the team had planned?  All the time.

What happens next?

In the span of, I don't know, maybe 30 seconds the entire competitive landscape is re-assessed by the Head Coach and a new course of action is set in place.

Players gather at the line of scrimmage in their designated roles and you can see from those amazing TV close-ups the power in their eyes and the fact that they are totally present with the knowledge that a very powerful force is about to be unleashed upon them and they need to be ready.

What would happen if the Head Coach spent those 30 seconds all ticked off about that last play and focused on his frustration?  What would happen if he spent those 30 seconds thinking about how cool it will be in the 3rd quarter when they run that new "hocus pocus" play they'd invented that week? Um, yeah, exactly.

Now think about your business.  Then think about your life in general.

How much time do you spend like the players on the field completely immersed in the present moment, fully aware of who is in front of you, what they are communicating to you and what is coming at you (whether it be your competition, your clients, your teams or your loved ones)?

Why should you think about this?  Because your leadership power is in the present moment.

You have absolutely no power over the past and the only power you have over the future is to affect it in the present.  You probably never thought of it this way, but you hold all of your power in the present moment.  Just like the football players all lined up and ready for that next play with power in their eyes.

What can you do in the present moment with the enormity of that power?

• Make a bold decision
• Hear the tone in your client's voice that signals how confident they really
  are in their strategies
• Accept the reality of your competitive landscape
• Choose to believe someone - or not
• Admit to yourself you love someone
• Start

All pretty powerful, I'd say.

As leaders we are bombarded each day by information, messages, questions, and requests.

How often do we absorb the reality of the present moment, of the competitive landscape, of what is coming at us and choose to address these things full force? How often are we actually distracted or unfocused instead?

Do we delegate our power away...and if so, why?

Do we fail to be fully present with our teams, our boards, our children, our friends?

How would our business - and our life - be different if we harnessed the power in every moment?

How would your business and your life be different if you harnessed the power in your present moment?

Please let me know in the comments - I'd be honored if you would share your thoughts!

This post originally ran on Lisa's C-Level Strategies blog.