Be a beginner

This weekend, I chose to be a beginner.

Pete Carpenter and I took advantage of the winter weather and went cross-country skiing.

Fun fact:
This is only the second time I've ever been on skis.

I fell.
I wasn't fast.
I wasn't graceful.

And I didn't care.

It felt good to just be out there.

To be slow.
To be learning.
Without the pressure to be excellent.

It made me think about something I hear from leaders:
"I feel like I'm supposed to know everything. And I don't."

The unspoken expectation to perform at your highest level in every meeting, every decision, every conversation.

It's exhausting.
And it sets an impossible standard for the people around you.

Your team doesn't need you to be perfect.
They need you to be present.

To say when you're still learning.
To show them it's okay not to have it all figured out.
To show them that growth is not a weakness.

Excellence has its place.

But so does humility.
So does experimentation.
So does falling down and getting back up without making it mean something about your worth.

Leadership is not about always being the best.
Sometimes it’s about giving everyone else permission to be human.