Welcome to the Deploy Yourself Newsletter, where I gently provoke you to show you your own power. This newsletter is an invitation to your leadership. You can also read this issue online.
Hey,
Can we be real and face what we do not want to face?
Every time I turn on the news or talk to people about the world, I hear the same stories.
Stories about the war in Ukraine, the global climate crisis, business scandals, stress and mental health challenges, and various other socio-economic issues.
These are real problems, no doubt! But what I see is that we continue to go around in circles without reaching anywhere.
At the root of our inability to get real and solve these problems is what we do not face to face – our fear of failure.
Let me explain. When we start negotiations for the climate crisis or to solve a business challenge, we do not want to fail – as a CEO, as a Prime Minister, as a politician, as an activist, or whatever role or title we hold.
This fear of failure keeps us stuck in superficial conversations, endless how-to’s, conflicts and debates.
Simply because we are unable to be with the fact that we or what we do might fail – it leads to a mess on the surface to hide the mess inside.
We all are afraid of failure. We do not want to disappoint those who we are responsible for. And there is nothing wrong with that.
What is wrong is that we do not see that our unwillingness to acknowledge our own insecurities and fear is holding us from making progress.
It suffocates us from the inside and keeps us stuck on the outside.
Unwilling to face this fear leads to anger, aggression, playing safe, and other coping strategies.
We are ok with letting the whole planet, life and its ecosystem fail – just because we are afraid to acknowledge that we are afraid – of losing our position of power, our job, our income, our house, our reputation, our family, etc.
But if the planet is spinning out of control and the ecosystem is failing – aren’t we all already failing and losing it all?
We would all be crawling if children would be afraid of failing. We would never learn to walk or run if children would be afraid of failure.
That is why the biggest examples of bravery often come from younger folks or even children – people like Greta and Malala – maybe because they are not afraid of fear itself yet. Or maybe they already see the bigger failure in not seeing our own fears.
Normally we run away from fear and that is the default human way. There is nothing wrong with that. But that stops our leadership.
My invitation is to go deeper and face what you do not want to face – losing your title, house, money, position, reputation, and even your life!
That is how you get to success – not by trying to be safe and hesitating – by being fully willing to fail.
Can you see the paradox? We create a mess on the outside (often unintentionally and subconsciously) to avoid the mess inside.
If you can’t BE with something fully that you are afraid of, it won’t let you BE fully committed to the success/results that you truly want.
Your willingness to fail and face the fear of failure is at the root of your leadership.
Reply back and share what this is provoking for you. If you prefer to listen to me talk more about the above, click here.
I read and respond to every reply.
Fascinating Articles & Stories
One
“Trust and inspire instead of command and control.” – Marius Ciavola
I interviewed Marius Ciavola, CEO of Tradeling.com on the Choosing Leadership podcast. We talked about:
- I’ve learned that the best way to learn is actually to teach
- you’re entering an area of unknowns and you’ve gotta be comfortable with the uncomfortable
- What keeps us together is that common purpose
- The fear comes when you have an environment that’s commanding and controlling
- Some of the challenges we face are also self-inflicted
- You need to say no to so many things more often than you say yes to. But those things that you say yes to, you know you wanna do them really well, and that will help you stand out
- I prefer to be the serving CEO than the commanding CEO.
Listen to the entire episode.
Two
“You have to be prepared to stand up for what you believe in” – Steve Midgley
I interviewed serial entrepreneur Steve Midgley, CRO at CYE on the Choosing Leadership podcast. We talked about:
- Fortune had favoured me and I didn’t have any debt in my life.
- I’m a straight shooter. I’m very authentic and transparent
- Sometimes you have to stick to your principles and it might mean that you have to step out, and that’s not pleasant, right? But that comes with the territory.
- You have to be extremely resolute and resourceful and make sure that you’re managing your own energies
- I have a personal dream, uh, to build a charity that will fundamentally change underprivileged children’s lives.
- I think navigating, uh, the ambiguity at the moment is extremely challenging.
- You’ve gotta let your team see the human side of you, uh, as much as possible
Listen to the entire episode.
Three
Curated resources for your leadership
Here are my best finds from all over the internet for your leadership. Make yourself tea/coffee as you read, listen and learn.
Pro-tip – Listen and read the below about YOU – not about the author. (reply back and ask if you do not understand what that means)
- How and why to take your own advice?
- Leadership, coaching, and learning from the military
- Why are you RED? – a gentle provocation from me
That’s it for now. If you have any questions or feedback, or if you are new and want to introduce yourself, hit reply. I read and respond to every reply. All the best,
Sumit
P.S. – I am looking to interview more inspirational leaders on my podcast. If you know anyone I should interview, reply back with their name.
(Twitter) @SumitGupta
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