Are You A People-Pleasing, People-Caring Leader?

 “Akeelah and the Bee,” is a movie that contains several rich nuggets of wisdom and insight on leadership. It portrays an incredible journey of an 11-year-old girl from an inner-city school in Los Angeles who discovers her unique talent for spelling and qualifies for the finals in the prestigious Scripps National spelling bee.

There is an impactful scene in the movie where Dr. Larabee (Akeelah’s mentor and trainer) asks Akeelah to read a quote that is framed on the wall. Akeelah looks at the quote and in a soft voice timidly reads:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." 

Dr. Larabee then asks, “What does it mean?”

"I don't know." she responds.

"It's written in plain English. What does it mean?" he asks again.

"That I'm not supposed to be afraid?" she says.

"Afraid of what?" he asks.

Then Akeelah says, "afraid of... me?"

Being afraid of ourselves is the crux of the matter that prevents us from stepping into our greatness as leaders. I personally am a self-professed recovering people-pleaser leader.

Growing up I was completely unaware of my personal needs and desires because I was externally focused on performing to gain the approval of others.

I armed myself for the day by pasting a fake smile on my face and blending in like a chameleon. I set my external homing device on performing and delivering on what I believed others wanted from me, ignoring my own needs, desires and innate leadership intuition. I did whatever I could to avoid standing out, fearing that people wouldn’t understand me, and that I would inevitably end up alone, resulting in both personal and professional failure.

As it turns out I’m not alone. There is an incredibly high percentage of people-caring, people-pleasing leaders out there. The road to authentic, courageous leadership begins with a sincere commitment to face our greatest fear of owning our own greatness.

As leaders we are being given the opportunity to engage in our personal heroic leadership journey. As we discover how to trust ourselves and access our innate, authentic leadership instincts, creativity and intuitive decision-making abilities.

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, “As we let our own light shine…”, we simultaneously give other people the permission and inspiration to do the same.  This is ultimately what authentic leadership is all about - experiencing deep personal growth that impacts and inspires the people we lead, and ultimately creates a brand-new future (and results) at work and in life that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

Are you ready to move past people-pleasing to confident, assertive leadership?

I help people-caring, people-pleasing leaders transform self-doubt into confident communication and inspire breakthrough results in the people they lead. Discover 3 simple actions, unique to you and your personality, that you can take to communicate in a way that impacts accountability + performance in the people you lead. Click on the link below and let's connect!

https://www.impactandprofits.com/free-coaching-form