4 Things All Leaders Are Struggling With

Written by: Majbrit Bøttger, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

When I work 101 with executives, I always ask them a couple of sessions in “why did you hire me?” and the answers are remarkably similar. There are four main reasons and I will share them with you so you have the opportunity to work on this before it becomes a frustration in your life.

Many people don’t even have this on their radar and thus it creates problems or challenges in their personal and professional life without them being able to pinpoint the cause of the problem.

Knowing these four and having them in mind daily will give you a really good head start, so let’s go…

1 Clarity

They need a new level of focus and an even clearer path to where they are going. Sometimes they don’t know where they are at and if they are doing good. Sometimes things have become old routines and they are not sure why they do what they do. They have just done it for a long time and never thought of tapping into their routines to see if they are still serving them and whether they are helping them move forward or holding them back or even stopping them. There’s a big difference between just being busy and being busy with things that matter. Never confuse urgent with important. A new and different perspective is giving them a crystal-clear road to follow regarding where they are and where they want to go and who they are and who they want to become. What they want their legacy to be like and how to move towards that. They want a clear vision of their future so they can contribute and make a meaningful difference. Working on this with intention makes it clear what their day is about and what is most important.

Sometimes you will experience these AHA moments on your own. You wake up in the morning and go “now I get it” and you are excited about it for the rest of the day. What if you could operationalize this consistently by having somebody asking you just the right questions so you always know this is who I am, this is what I should be doing, let’s go!

2 Challenge

People need to be challenged to grow. Challenge their beliefs, their way of thinking about things, and the ways they get distracted. One thing is to keep people congruent it’s a whole other thing to challenge them to think bigger, do better, and rise to their full potential. To push their beliefs and thinking patterns about what is possible for them. Challenge them to think differently about themselves and their growth.

The people I work with are already good and so there are very people around them that will challenge them to do things better or more efficiently or to learn faster so they can continuously accelerate. If there is no one to keep them engaged at a high level they will choose comfort over the impact and before they know it that big dream or that vision is dead in the water because nobody challenged them to reprioritize or to put it on the calendar, and we all know if it is not in the calendar it doesn’t count. Nobody will challenge them to rise above the noise and distractions and negativity in the world.

3 Congruence

Imagine somebody who says that the kids are the most important to them but in four sessions they never mention them once. Or that they say they are going to do something and they don’t. It’s easy to be a high performer – sometimes. It is easy to be high on energy – sometimes. It’s easy to be a great spouse or friend or parent – sometimes. It’s important to live and act in alignment with our values, but not sometimes!

To have an impartial person to keep you congruent is essential, somebody that doesn’t have stocks in your life. The people around you are oftentimes not sufficient to hold you congruent. Either they work for you and just say “yes” or they might not want you to grow because they are comfortable with who you are right now, so they like to keep things the way they are. We are the sum of the five people we interact with the most so it’s important to choose them wisely. The congruence comes from the fact that a conversation with a coach is a conversation without filter, rejection, or judgment. As a coach, I don’t have to worry about being 100% honest with you, because I’m not going to the football game with you on Sunday or have to sit through a family dinner with the in-laws. You will never feel threatened by me because you know I'm always in your corner and have your best interests at heart. A coach is just exploring things with you and is constantly in the game to lift you.

4 Comradery

Nobody wants to take on the world alone but at a top-leader level, your access to people whom you can share complicated thinking, insecurities, and frustrations with is very limited. You can be vulnerable to others but not about everything and if you are a leader, you know what I mean. Accomplishing things at a high level can be lonely. Having a coach to refire you every week, keep your energy level up, discuss situations with you, and help you stay on track and move forward is worth it in itself.

Since you read this far you are a person with ambitions. You have a purpose, a goal, and a dream and are continuously striving for excellence and a future of more satisfaction and meaningfulness. You want to feel alive and excited about life, you want to feel the joy that comes from contributing and knowing you make a difference.

You made it this far by working hard and giving it your all and sometimes you can deal with stuff on your own, sometimes you need some assistance to take you to the next level and lift you. Don't hesitate to reach out for that assistance when you feel stuck or plateauing. The longer you wait the more painful it will become and nobody but you expect you to deal with everything on your own. Coaching can be life-changing and you deserve to be and feel your best.

You got this!

Majbrit Bøttger, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Majbrit Bøttger is one out of only 200 elite Certified High-Performance Coaches (CHPC) in the world. A series of incidents left her burned out and stressed and she was forced to reinvent her life. That is why she chose to get certified. It took her life to a whole new level and she has for more than a decade been dedicated to helping others reach the same level of joy and meaningfulness in their lives by improving life areas such as clarity, energy, courage, productivity, and influence. She is the founder and CEO of High-Performance Living and has helped people all across the world live their dream life.