Leadership is a tough gig! Some of us have targeted a leadership role, and worked hard and strategically to get there… Others are more accidental leaders… Either way, leadership can be a tough gig.

Here are 7 ways to enjoy it more in 2023.

1. Know that you don’t have to have all the answers. Tell Less. Ask More. (Or as Aaron Burr says in the fabulous musical ‘Hamilton’ – ‘Talk less. Smile more.’) Your role is to bring people together to develop solutions, not show up in shining armour on your white horse to save the day.
2. Accept that at times everyone feels like an imposter. I haven’t met a leader yet that at least sometimes doesn’t feel out of their depth, at least for a moment. It’s part of the territory of leadership.
3. Take time out for you. No one can serve others when they are depleted. Invest in your health, relationships, recreation, learning. Protect parts of your diary to do what reinvigorates you and ensure you are the best version of yourself.
4. Foster your curiosity. Curiosity makes life interesting, it builds connection between people and most importantly it’s the antidote for judgement. Get curious about situations, opportunities, other people and about your own beliefs and behaviours.
5. Celebrate wins – big and small. Give yourself and those around you a lovely hit of dopamine! (Sadly, almost every executive team I work with say they don’t take enough time out to celebrate, so there’s plenty of room for improvement here.)
6. Adopt a learner’s mindset. Accept there will be stuff ups. Taking risks is part of learning and growing, and it’s compulsory if you want to move innovation past something talked about to something lived. Test, learn, apply the learning next time…
7. Remember ‘fearless leadership’ is not the absence of fear. It’s about fearing less – recognise any fear you feel and use it as data in the same way you use all other data sources to make informed choices. If you at times feel afraid, you are not failing, you are tuning in. Now take action!

Do these 7 things and you will set yourself up for enjoyment and success in 2023. And as a bonus, you will be modelling these behaviours for the people around you too.

Go fearlessly into 2023
Corrinne