Leadership doesn’t have to be lonely.

Leadership doesn’t have to be lonely.

But too often it is.

You hold yourself to impossibly high standards.

You imagine that the impossibly high standards you have for yourself are held by others.

You run on ahead and forget to take everyone else with you.

You go off on a tangent and drift away from your mission.

Or you stand still, paralysed by choice, trapped by a fear of making the wrong decision.

You hide your vulnerability from your closest colleagues.

Resist help.

You wing it.

Blag it.

Fake it til you make it.

All the time layering external confidence atop internal fear.

Smiling over the cracks.

Starting earlier.

Working later.

You feel overwhelmed and under-impactful.

Maybe you turn dissatisfaction with yourself into frustration with others.

Your team don’t work hard enough.

Or aren’t skilled enough.

Ultimately, you lose your confidence.

And start feeling like an imposter.

An imposter who dreads being unmasked and exposed.

So you isolate yourself with a protective layer of emotional distance.

And you start to feel alone.

I know, because I’ve been there.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

When you secure your own oxygen mask first.

Leverage your network.

Know your strengths.

And own your weaknesses.

When you set boundaries and stick to them.

And remind yourself; it’s supposed to be hard.

When you put in the time to find a mentor.

Build an honest and open dialogue with your Chair.

Turn to your professional allies.

And engage the right Coach.

When you understand your team’s complimentary strengths.

Make requests instead of issuing demands.

When you are regular and consistent with your praise.

Clear and realistic in your expectations.

When you delegate to your senior managers.

Involve your teams in the problem so they can be part of the solution.

And empower decision-making at every level.

When you contain your feelings but don’t hide them.

Take responsibility and resist blame.

Say sorry if you’ve made a mistake.

And relinquish control.

When you trust.

And are trusted in return.

Then you begin to lead collaboratively.

You lead, together.

And when you’re together, you’re no longer alone.