Obstacles, distractions and things that get in our way are part of the norm of life, both at home and in the workplace. Recently, my sometimes well-behaved Weimaraner (large, needy and extremely affectionate dog) decided to shred her bed in the middle of the night, leaving the mess for me to discover the next morning when I had no additional time to spare before a demanding client meeting. This is life, right?
 
How you coach yourself through the obstacles of life can mean the difference between having a meltdown, spinning your wheels, or successfully navigating the obstacle and moving forward. Building self-awareness and being open to not having all of the answers are two tools for working through obstacles, especially at work.
 
Recently I worked with a client who is facing some very real obstacles to completing a project because of functional silos that exist in their workplace. The walls seem to be pretty tall and thick in some places, and the environment is territorial. You may have experienced this in your own organization. You and your department might even be “those people.”
 
Working through, around or with obstacles is a lot of what we are called to do in our work as leaders. It could be called problem solving or teamwork or team building or living in chaos, and in today’s VUCA world (the acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous), it is the norm. 

​Here are a few tips to consider when coaching yourself through these challenges:
 

• Consider accepting what is, rather than wasting time wondering, “Why me?”  Managing unproductive emotions usually enables you to think more clearly and arrive at a better solution.
• Acknowledge that you don’t have to have all of the answers. As a team leader or member, being vulnerable enough to ask for help when the answers are not apparent or easy will strengthen the team and the success of the outcome of actions that you decide to take.
• Take the time to debrief and learn from why this situation arose and what worked, or not, in the solution. Being a consistent and persistent learner will set you up for more successful outcomes.
• Curiosity is generally more productive than blaming, whether it’s someone else or yourself.  If you ask yourself, “How did I end up here again?” and truthfully respond, you might learn about assumptions you make or promises you’ve broken, or something else that will be useful to help you learn how your behaviors influenced the obstacles that you are facing.
• Think through the missing conversations that would have prevented the obstacles, or could break down the barriers.  Leaders are paid to have productive conversations, and sometimes we resist having a conversation for fear that it will be confrontational, painful, or something else. The conversations we avoid generally create relationship barriers and can contribute to the obstacles we face.
• Tap your sense of humor. Some obstacles are serious; many are not. Using humor as a response to obstacles, whenever reasonable, is good for your soul and the souls around you.

My lesson learned is that dogs are not always predictable, and that it would be a good practice to have an extra dog bed on hand to make it easy for me to stay on my schedule. I admit that I don’t have an answer for why my dog did this, so I accept that this will most likely happen again, and I elect to find humor in the situation. What’s funnier than a million pieces of cotton/poly blend at 6:00 a.m., after all?

Leadership lessons and inspiration can be gained from everyday experiences, whether we are participating or observing. While not automatic, we can choose to look through the lens of inspiration, and that lens can move us to change and grow, or sometimes just keep going. Most recently, I was inspired by the run for the Stanley Cup by Nashville’s local NHL team, the Predators.  Here are a few things that I took from the experience:
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• Having grace under fire is a way of being, and in spite of all of the challenges they faced, our team and coaches took the high road. Their focus was moving forward and playing one game at a time.  As leaders, learning from the past, but realizing that we can’t change it, gives us the energy to adapt, apply and keep moving toward our goals.  In addition, focusing forward prevents us from being distracted by unproductive rabbit holes.

• Pulling together as a team takes work and belief in each other, as well as commitment to each other’s success. 17 Predators scored, both offensive and defensive players. Excellent teamwork enabled these young men to succeed without heavy reliance on the work of just a few. While the team has some outstanding performers, they couldn’t have truly been their best without the commitment of their other team members to “get it done.”

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• Hard work pays off, and sometimes you have to gut your way through, pushing for just one more effort, to see a project or plan to completion.  Our team played with unfailing commitment, even in the face of some failures and tough performances.  The Predators showed us the importance of believing in your purpose, even when the situation feels challenging.

 

• Never underestimate the value of having fun and believing in the possibilities, regardless of the odds stacked against you.  While disappointed that they didn’t bring the Cup to Nashville, each player expressed their excitement in returning in a few months to start the new season and build on what they learned this year.

 

• The halo effect of their positivity and character truly inspired the community to respond with a combination of our Southern culture and hospitality, blending the traditions of the game of hockey.  As a leader, it’s a great outcome to elevate an entire team by creating values and behaviors that transcend the “game” of work.  We love our players, and appreciate their commitment to the community and the fans, and they, in turn, rallied for us.  You can’t ask for more than that in a win-win environment.

Certainly bringing the Cup home would have been an amazing end to this story, and yet we celebrate the Predators' demonstration of commitment, focus and integrity, as well as the great sense of fun that they brought to each game. Their best inspired the rest of community to be committed and bring our best.  It wasn’t perfect, indeed, yet spectacularly successful none-the-less.  It was a nearly ideal leadership experience, and was certainly inspiring enough to consider what worked well that could be applied in other work environments.  How can you bring these lessons to your team?

Most of us start our journey of business ownership with a passion and a heart for the pursuit of our own thing, not beholden to anyone else to make decisions for us or supervise our decisions.  We love the freedom and the sense of adventure, and the ability to pursue something that enriches our lives and pays for the food on our tables.  We believe in finding work that is consistent with who we are, and we also believe that others will want to follow us, buy from us, and also experience all of the value that we can bring to their world.

If you want to have a successful business, though, whether you work for yourself or someone else, you need to know very specifically who you are serving and what makes you uniquely qualified to deliver the value that you say you are offering.  You have to understand what risks you are taking and why you are taking them on this specific market segment. 

You also need to have the discipline to do the things that you should do even when you don’t want to do them.  I think the term today is “adulting” when you make those types of decisions.  And in a new business, knowing who you serve, how you will serve them and making the tough decisions each day to spend your time focused there is a very adult decision.

So, while passion and heart goes a long way, building structure and strategy around your passion will help you relate and deliver better to your ideal customer, and support you in taking risks that are more likely to have a reward for you.  If you want to improve your success:
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• Create a very specific customer profile of the people you serve, and then test your theory. Conduct a survey. Invite some folks to lunch. Ask for feedback from the people you believe that you serve, then listen carefully to what they say. Take appropriate actions based on what you are learning.

• Face your fears and begin doing the things that you don’t like to do, but will bring you success. Prepare for and attend a networking event where you set a goal to meet certain people or a certain number of people. Practice your elevator speech until it begins to feel like it’s consistent with who you are and how you want to be seen by others.

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• Get outside of your comfort zone and take action, rather than being paralyzed by analysis and awaiting the “perfect time” to take action.  Moving forward fearlessly means having a plan, taking some risks and learning from mistakes.

Your heart is only one of your guides on this journey. Creating strategy and structure in addition to identifying your target market, meeting them and fine-tuning while you are learning about them will require courage, discipline and a positive mindset.  Your heart will benefit from having that type of support.