What tigers are you facing or avoiding? An inquiry into your leadership (revisited)

​The Leadership Development Intensive (LDI) created by Dr John J Scherer, is designed around 5 powerful and transformative questions:
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1. What CONFRONTS you?
2. What are you BRINGING?
3. What’s RUNNING you?
4. What CALLS you?
5. What will UNLEASH you?

I am updating and re-sharing a series of short blogs to illustrate how these inquiry questions help to generate new and deeper insights into who we are and how we show up in our leadership, creating greater possibilities for action that result in surprising outcomes.  In this blog, I’m going to address Q#1 – what CONFRONTS you?

We don’t need to think too hard about what confronts us at the moment at the collective level! On the back of a pandemic, in the UK where I live, we are now facing into a full blown cost of living crisis, growing unrest and industrial action across public and some private sector organisations, a crisis of confidence in our large institutions from politics to police, to residential care services where societies most vulnerable members are supposed to be looked after. Increasingly, we are looking for leadership at all levels in our communities, organisations and wider society to help us navigate the significant uncertainties we face.  But what kind of leadership is called for? What kind of leadership is needed NOW? I believe that, more than ever, the PERSON in the POSITION of leadership matters.  Who you are, and how you lead, is central to establishing and maintaining the trust needed to bring people together to find new and lasting solutions for the world we live in. 

So, bringing the challenge of leadership closer to home and gaining insight in to your leadership starts with Q#1: identifying what situation(s) CONFRONTS you in your life and/or leadership that up till now you’ve been avoiding?   

For example, perhaps you prefer to avoid:

• Making crucial decisions because you can’t be sure it’s the right decision?
• Difficult, but important, conversations with a colleague for fear of conflict?
  
• Speaking up, or saying what you really think, because you worry it won't go down well with certain individuals or groups.

John refers to these situations as ‘tigers’, that is, issues or situations we would prefer to avoid at all costs, primarily because we can’t conceive of them ending well.  In his book, Facing the Tiger, written with Dorota Nawalaniec, John invites the reader to consider what s/he would do if confronted by a tiger in the jungle? What would your instinct be?  To turn and run, of course – and that most certainly would not end well!  Apparently if you turn and face the tiger, so the story goes, then the tiger will pause and consider its response ... at least for a nano second.  The outcome may well be the same … but at least you have created the possibility of a different outcome!  If you’re not facing your tiger, the chances are it’s already eating you!  Just think about the ways in which the key thing you avoid doing or saying holds you/others back in some way? By learning how to confront the ‘tigers’ in your life/work, YOU create possibilities for different outcomes for yourself, and for others.  Understanding what makes these situations a tiger for you is something I will briefly examine in my next blog which will cover Q#2: What are you BRINGING and Q#3: What (up till now) has been RUNNING you?

If you’d like to chat about these 5 questions or find out more about the LDI, then get in touch with me: [email protected]