To get somewhere in life we need to aim at something; to set goals. But when we have worked on reaching that goal for a long time (whether it is making a turn-around of a company or starting your own, successful, business, – or something else) and we finally get to a point where we can reap the rewards and enjoy the sweet taste of success…then, two things tend to happen. First of all (1), that sweet, deserving feeling doesn’t last for very long at all! – and as a consequence (2) we almost immediately start looking for a new goal…
Once we start working on the next goal it can be tempting to assume that as “I’ve gotten this far with my current skills and attitude, I’ll just copy paste that” … Subject to the goal, it might be fine, but if it includes a transition of some kind, perhaps landing a more senior role in a different company, or to launch your business in a certain market, then we may need different skills and know-how to get to the next level.
What we have developed over the last couple of years may not serve us so well in getting to the next level. In this process many of us fail to see our own blind spots.
Past successes can make us lazy and overly confident…
Getting praise can be dangerous because it becomes easy to delude yourself when all you hear are positive things. Delusional self-confidence causes you to resist change, and all of a sudden you start surrounding yourself with yes-people…
We should of course build on, and use our past experiences and the knowledge already acquired! But try to leverage what you already have with what you need to further sharpen your edge. Is it a new Mentor or Coach, is it a new Advisory Board, new team members, or perhaps to replace part of your Board with the relevant people that can help you with market knowhow or specific skills?
What do you need in order to optimally build on what you already have? What skills do you need to acquire? What can you outsource and delegate as to keep your focus?
Always, always keep an open mind… Acknowledge that your skills as a leader, and as a person, never will reach a ‘finish line’; keep adopting, exploring and learning!
That mindset is what will get you to your next goal! 😊