Year End

Those words were uttered to me by my leadership retreat leader in preparation for a challenge that would stretch our leadership abilities. I don’t recall the exact exercise but what I do remember was the essence and the mood that was created in our group. All of us were going to fail at some point during the exercise and we were given full permission to fail the best way we could.

When I reflect on 2020 and all that occurred, I find it helpful to bring up that same perspective. So much of this past year was out of our control and we all dealt with it in our own way. My business suffered enormously as clients either put projects on hold or shifted direction entirely that excluded my services.

For a few months during the pandemic, I was in a very closed space creatively and mentally. Any initiatives I tried seemed to stall as I placed roadblocks in front of me as every turn. I was trying to stretch myself by exploring new business opportunities while at the same time observing “rest in place” orders. I was afraid of failure and it prevented me from truly taking some risks.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the summer during some brainstorming calls with a group of fellow entrepreneurs that I got the courage to try something different. I was inspired to organize a two- day retreat for a small group of leaders where we would social distance while riding motorcycles and leaning into our leadership edge. The idea was unique and exciting. Every one of my clients I talked to seemed intrigued and excited about the idea. I found a beautiful country location and gave myself two months to recruit a small group of leaders interested in the experience.

Yet in the process of planning and recruiting for the event, I learned some valuable lessons. I learned about my audience and they are not motorcycle riders. My audience – “my people” – are self-aware and interested in making their life, career, or team better. They are the leaders in your organization that want to make a positive difference with the people around them.

The fact that I ride a motorcycle and have conversations about my perspectives and lessons learned is independent of the audience. I am comfortable riding the motorcycle.  Riding relaxes my brain and eliminates any self-consciousness about talking to a camera! Going forward for 2021, I will continue to have conversations from the saddle and focus on what moves me forward in my business and my life.

I don’t regret the effort that went into planning a retreat that was doomed to fail from the start. The major benefit of putting that event together was creating movement, energy and some momentum. It got me in a space of seeing possibilities and opportunities.

I’ve noticed this about myself over the 10 years of being in business. When I am positive and hopeful, it helps me focus on opportunities that will move me in the right direction. As business started to turn around with client projects, I saw that getting involved in something would help me turn the business around. As I close out 2020 I am still in recovery mode with an optimistic outlook for the first quarter of 2021.