I have been trying to not binge watch the newest season of The Crown. I like to stretch out the pleasure. Unfortunately, I’m already through episode 7. The episode that has touched me so far (whether or not it is historically accurate) is the episode where men walk on the moon. It is only superficially about that historic milestone and more about Prince Philip and his meditation on what has he actually accomplished with his life; what is his purpose; what does he believe in? Everyone experiences these feelings at some point in their life and for many it is an ongoing question. I hate the term “mid-life crisis,” and thankfully it’s not used much anymore, because it may feel like a crisis, but it’s actually an opportunity, an awakening to a new way of being in the world.
In my leadership coaching, I often ask my clients not only what they want to do, but who do they want to be. The answer to the second question is usually quite fruitful. Leadership is as much about who we are as what we do. Most organizations and people tend to focus on the doing because it’s visible, measurable, and therefore “important.” As we enter the new year and the new decade, many of us will set goals. I suggest making a list of your answers to the question, “Who do I want to be in 2020?” and add them to your goals.
“Not everything that can be counted counts; and not everything that counts can be counted.”
(credited to Albert Einstein but probably said by William Bruce Cameron)
