Firas Alragom Coaching

In this article, President Barack Obama shares his insights on how he made the most difficult decisions of his life and career that impacted the lives of millions. While many of these are helpful to any leader in supporting them manage their hectic or even chaotic decision-making process, the one that I’ve struggled with the most and seen prevalent in my colleagues and clients is remembering to take time for ourselves.

It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of thinking that taking personal time for self-care, friends, and family, or even entertainment, is a luxury that we can’t afford. However, giving ourselves time to disconnect from, process, and reflect on the never-ending bombardment of information that has become the norm these days, is vital to any leader to support them in making the best decisions they can, with as much clarity as possible.

So with this new year ahead of us, I’d like to remind myself as well as everyone else, to take time for ourselves and to be with those that bring us joy more often as that will fuel us along our individual journies of success.

How I Approach the Toughest Decisions
https://ed.gr/c4o0e

How I Approach the Toughest Decisions Our choices reflect and determine who we are.

Read my article on my reflections on 2020:

Stop and Smell the Roses

Stop and Smell the Roses Reflections on 2020

It was my pleasure to have a great discussion with my friends and colleagues Martin Dara and Thomas Leamy in The Entrepreneur Playground Podcast.

Some of the key ideas we discussed were:

- Living more to be more productive (and overcome burnout).
- The impact of being too serious on productivity and decision making.
- Finding support to remind you of the important things in life (and work).

Feel free to listen to the episode here (and subscribe to the podcast for other great discussions):
https://ed.gr/c2qef

I was truly honored to have been invited to speak at Zayed University yesterday as part of their Happiness and Wellbeing initiative by Dr. Fatma Taher and her innovative team.

I hope that their work in promoting happiness and wellbeing in the workplace can inspire similar initiatives in institutions across the Gulf-Arab region.

When thinking about leadership, most people immediately look outside of themselves and want to learn how to inspire and motivate others to achieve a greater goal.

While that is an essential aspect of leadership, it is only as effective as the leader’s self-awareness.

Join me for an online discussion and Q&A
session on how to become a more effective leader by realizing the impact self-awareness has on enhancing your organization's performance.

Date: Wed. 18th Nov.
Time: 7pm Kuwait time (GMT+3), 4pm UK time (GMT)

Zoom webinar registration:
https://ed.gr/cz82e

A leader carries many responsibilities, and it can be overwhelming at times.

However, be mindful that you don’t drive your people away from you and make them think that they should never bring their problems to you.

While it might be a temporary relief from having to support your team, you might find yourself in the dark about the real challenges in your organization that might turn into disasters in the long run.

More importantly, you might find yourself without a team to lead.

In times of crisis, some leaders feel a need to overly assert themselves to hide their uncertainty, thinking that showing any sign of weakness will undermine their leadership.

However, embracing their vulnerability and allowing others to see it can have the following positive effects:

1. Gives permission to their team members to admit not knowing everything they need to know to make an informed decision, which can lead to better decision-making after gathering the necessary information instead of making reactive emotional decisions.

2. By asking for the support of their team in finding solutions, they benefit from the collective skills and experiences of all the team members, which can lead to better solutions.

3. Gives their teams something to focus on that is solution-oriented rather than panicking about the unknown impact of this crisis.

4. By being transparent with their team members, it earns them their trust and respect, and shows that everyone, including the leader, always has room for self-development and growth and to strive towards that continuously.

What are your experiences of leading in times of crisis? Do you think that embracing your vulnerability as a leader with your team makes you a better leader or not?

To lead others towards a way of being or working we must first work on ourselves and continuously check-in to make sure that our words match not only our beliefs but more importantly our actions.

If we aren’t passionate about the work we do or don’t hold integrity in our work as a core value then we should not be surprised if we don’t see those traits reflected in the people we lead.

So before we ask those that we lead to believe in a bigger goal or act in a certain way, we need to make sure that we are aligned with those beliefs and goals ourselves.

As a leader, your proudest moments aren’t the ones where you achieved great success for yourself; it’s when you’ve inspired others to achieve things they never thought were possible.

The successes of those you lead are your real success, and they elevate you along with your team.

So instead of limiting yourself to thinking “how can I be a great success”, it’s much more impactful to think, “how can I help others become successful.”

Try doing that for a while, and you will see the widespread ripple effect of growth and success throughout your team and organization.

Leaders provide guidance and direction to their teams to help them navigate challenging circumstances.

Leaders help their team see options and opportunities that they were unaware of or have lost sight of.

Leaders harness the talent, skills, and capabilities of their team members to weather difficult storms and reach destinations that they did not think were possible.

Leaders inspire others to follow them with their clear vision along with their willingness to adapt their approach towards that vision as the circumstances change.