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)
How to Be Cool with Uncertainty
The Downside of the Upside: How Optimism Isn’t Always Your Friend
The Surprising Physical Toll of Stuckness
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
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 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 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.
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
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
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
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