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Leaders: To develop as a leader, you have to be ok with sitting in unease.

That was the statement made by my friend Roxanne at lunch on Sunday.

We were talking about the responsibility we each have to do the work as leaders to reflect and build our self-awareness. We acknowledged that this is HARD work. It’s uncomfortable. It creates a sense of unease.

That’s when Roxanne said “We have to be ok with sitting in unease.”

Sitting In Unease | Cynthia Farrell | 110 West Group

For each of us, the situations that cause unease can differ.

For one of the women at lunch, it’s believing in herself and finding value internally rather than from external validation.

For another, who is confident in her value, it’s owning her genius and not shrinking because people might think she’s arrogant.

For me, it’s to be ok with constructive conflict and not shift into my instinct to want to make everyone comfortable.

And for each of us, the REAL unease comes when we start peeling back the onion to understand WHY these situations cause us unease.

Oof, that is the HARD work.

But with that hard work, when we sit in the unease, we learn to be ok with it. And the more we’re ok with it, the more we can sit with it, to sit in the mess. The more we sit with the unease and mess, the more we identify the blind spots and roadblocks to the awesome leaders we each have the capability to be.

And the end result? Being an awesome leader becomes easier.

Unease >>> ease.

What is a leadership situation that makes you uneasy, one where you have growth to do?

PS When you’re ready to explore your own path to awesome leadership, I’d love to help you. Reach out and let’s have a coaching compatibility chat.

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