Resilience Means Self Care: Looking After You

These thoughts are dedicated to the leaders, like you, who inspire and challenge me every day. I wrote these in 2012 after my experience at Harvard Business School, where one of the key lessons for me was that 'resilience means self-care'. I'd like to share them with you again today. Stay well.

​Thank. You.
You make the decisions that matter.
The buck stops with you.
You want to do more than a job.
You want to create something that endures.
You want more than the corner office.
You want to be the cornerstone.
You understand that good ideas are nothing,
without decisive action.
You value integrity 
and deliver on your promises.
You know that the decisions you make today
have consequences
for tomorrow.
You think ahead.

They don’t make them
like they used to.
It’s a throwaway society.

But you understand the joy
in caring for something of value.
You know that attention to detail
produces rewards.
The turn of a wheel
means everything,
to those who have honed their craft.
To plan for tomorrow,
is to value today.
To sustain that value,
creates the future.

Leaders connect people,
to bring ideas to the world.
Ideas that shape our human experience.
Leaders create connections,
to inspire change.
Great leaders
inspire the change
that shapes our world. 

Leadership isn’t easy.
You have tough days,
but you still show up tomorrow.
You have to carry your team,
no matter what pressure you’re under.
You have to maintain your strength.
You need to look after you.

Resilience means self-care.
‘Once everything’s back to normal’
- is a myth.
There’s no going back.
There’s a new kind of normal.
You need to make space for you
in your life,
to give you the strength to lead.

To lead takes Perspicacity: 
Clarity of vision.
Penetrating discernment.
Insight
and Foresight.
An astronaut’s view of the Earth.
An independent perspective.
Catalysis and Synthesis.
A fierce curiosity.
A deep understanding.
Question and

Listen.
A yearning for wisdom.
An ambitious future.
Learn and Grow.

You don’t get to make the easy decisions.
They leave you with the curly ones.
There’s no right answer,
but you do have to choose.
Vision brings clarity.
Purpose gives perspective.

Wise counsel
provides a clear road ahead.

To lead takes thick skin.
It will be lonely.
To lead takes courage.
​You can’t do it alone.
To lead takes judgment,
and you will be judged.
To lead takes wisdom, 
and you will doubt yourself.
To lead is not an honour,
It’s a responsibility.

To lead is to grow, 
and to see yourself anew.

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