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This Is It. Your Ultimate Guide to Getting and Staying Unstuck at Work


In the coaching business, when someone says they’re stuck, we consider it to be excellent news. Suddenly, that person doesn’t have all the answers. There’s an opening. They’re ready to consider new possibilities and new ways of being.

Through my work as a leadership coach and trainer and my interviews during The Unstuck Project, I’ve talked to hundreds of people about their experiences with being stuck and getting unstuck and here’s what I know for sure:

Stuck is pervasive – everyone gets stuck from time to time

Stuck is personal – what feels stuck to you, might not feel stuck to me

Stuck is perplexing – we often don’t know how or why we got stuck.

And, if left unaddressed, stuckness can leave us feeling disconnected, disillusioned, extremely frustrated and at worst, depressed. Rather than thriving, we become focused on merely surviving and in time, a gap grows between what we’re doing each and every day and what we want to be doing every day. The result is further entrenchment in our stuckness.

It’s a vicious cycle.

The good news is that there’s a way out of the stuckness cycle. And it just so happens that I’ve been blogging about this stuff for more than two years. For your convenience, I’ve aggregated 46 of my most powerful posts about getting and staying unstuck.

Step 1: Stop. Assess. Align.

Step 1 is all about understanding and reclaiming your authentic power; the kind of power that comes from being in alignment with your true self. Understanding your true self begins with discovering your current patterns of belief and behavior.

Infographic: Why Leaders Get Stuck

Are You Doing Stuff? Or Are You Doing Stuck?

How Your Six Basic Human Needs Affect Your Leadership Style (Bonus Infographic)

Great Leadership Begins with Solid Values. What are Yours? (Bonus Infographic)

Discovering Your Purpose (Bonus Infographic)

The Trouble with Certainty

How to Be Cool with Uncertainty

The Problem with Ego

The Poison of Cynicism

The Downside of the Upside: How Optimism Isn’t Always Your Friend

The Surprising Physical Toll of Stuckness

What’s Holding You Back?

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do

How to Overcome Fear and Face Down Your Internal Resistance Once and For All

Why You Fear Success

Narratively Stuck: Are Your Stories Limiting Your Potential?

What Are Your Tripwires? (Bonus Infographic)

Why You’re So Miserable at Work

How to Experience Heightened Creativity, Energy and Joy (yes, joy!) at Work

How Negative Emotions Can Help You Become a Better Leader

Step 2: Listen and Observe.

Once you fully understand yourself, you’re ready to begin to understand the people you work with and the systems you work within. You will build your credibility and influence, and will begin to develop the gift of anticipation.

How to Tell a Stuck Leader From an Unstuck One (Bonus Infographic)

The Dangers of Navel Gazing

The Trouble with Been There, Done That

Why You Should Never Take Anything Personally

Are You Addicted to Firefighting?

How to Figure Out What’s Really Going on in Your Organization

Step 3: Let Go.

Letting go, or more specifically, letting go of old ideas and old ways of doing things is terrifying to most people. Fear makes us reach into the past. But when you learn to let go of the things that are no longer working for you, you become free to co-create the future.

The Simple Secret to Staying Unstuck: Be an Explorer.

The 3 Most Damaging Lies We Tell Ourselves About Leadership

What Must Grow? What Must Go?

What to Be a True Unstuck Leader? Learn to Let Go of Stability.

Step 4: Co-create.

Once you let go of what’s ending, you’ll embrace what’s emerging. You’ll learn to work with those around you to create understanding, foster positivity and arrive at a compelling vision. This will give you the gift of innovation.

How to Show Up for Work

If You’re the Chief Ideas Person in Your Organization, There’s a Problem. A Big One.

How to Get unstuck Through the Art of Generative Leadership

Emergence is Everything

In Praise of Middle Managers

Tension is Good

Conflict is Great. So Great.

Don’t Be a Team Player. Just Don’t.

Step 5: Say Yes.

It sounds simple, but is anything but. When you say yes to the emerging future, you also have to say yes to imperfection, boundaries and networked connection. You have to commit to leadership as a practice. Now you’re ready to commit to action.

Good Perfectionism. Bad Perfectionism.

We Need to Talk About Boundaries

How to Find True Balance in Your Life

How to Laugh at Yourself

Don’t Forget: No Matter What, You’re in Charge of Your Career

Leadership is Really Hard. That’s Why You Have to Make it a Practice.

The Big Secret All Great Leaders Know: One Just Has to Get on With It

The Number One Reason Leaders Fail

P.S. If you like what you see here, sign up for my email newsletter (green box in right-hand sidebar on desktop, or under this post on mobile) so you'll never miss a post. Or, for even more great information on how to get and stay unstuck, buy my book, The Unstuck Leader.

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The Unstuck Leader book is now available.
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