What Are You Feeding Them?

Originally shared in A Daily Dose Of Leadership on July 7, 2020.

In a recent Leading At The Next Level lesson called Different Name, Same Challenge, we took a look at how easy it can really be for any of us to get overwhelmed by fears or concerns when everything we see and hear from the media points to the world spinning out of control. When I shared that lesson, we were just a few weeks into what became the global pandemic we all now refer to as COVID-19. The real intent of that lesson wasn’t to mock the threat that virus has been to so many people but to challenge your thinking with regards to how much control you allow fear to have over your daily routine. I also referenced some great work by Napoleon Hill that dug into where that fear is really coming from…

A few recent posts in A Daily Dose Of Leadership looked at how our actions as leaders ultimately impact the overall culture within our organizations. While we closed that loop by looking at how the example we set through our action (or inaction) carries weight with everyone around us, the same thing holds true for what our team sees us do and hears us say in times of significant change or uncertainty.

Have you ever bumped into a friend you haven’t seen for a while and been just stunned by how much their children have grown? The phrase ”what are you feeding them?” seems almost automatic… There are certain times in a child’s life where they seem to grow a few inches overnight, and they’re eating almost anything that’s not nailed down!

What does that have to do with the teams we lead or the organizational culture we’re working so hard to build?

How we handle the changes life throws at us, especially as leaders in times of uncertainty, can have a dramatic effect on everyone on the team around us. I’m almost certain that my current fear of snakes came from seeing my dad, the man I wanted to be most like as I was growing up, show a fear of snakes. I can distinctly remember a time in my life where I wasn’t afraid of snakes but they absolutely freak me out now. I can’t point to a specific personal experience that led to my fear, but a gradual growth of that fear because my role model exhibited it himself.

Think of how that scenario plays out within the immediate teams we lead, and can often spread through an entire organization. Whether we like it or not, the people who follow us are watching how we react to every situation that comes at us. If we panic when the wheels seem to be falling off, there’s a strong chance that many of our team members will react the same way – if not worse!

Dealing with change and uncertain situations is inevitable in any company for a multitude of reasons. How we choose to think about the challenges we face can not only feed our own fear, but it can set up a buffet for everyone around to camp out at if we allow it. But when we’re able to control our thoughts in these scenarios and constantly focus on the opportunities that may come from them, we feed those same kind of thoughts within our team as well!

Our actions, as well as our reactions, will feed our team. And this is one way we can be intentional about building a culture for navigating change!

In the next blog, we’ll take a look at a leader’s responsibility for teaching their team The Law of the Mirror.