How to Keep Going as a Leader

Welcome back to Everyday Leader. Shannon and Conrad here. Today's question is a simple one: how do you keep going as a leader? We are in a time where there are real, legitimate obstacles -- things happening in the world that make it genuinely hard to stay in it. And we also know that giving up on our leadership, stepping away from it in an unskillful way, means giving up on creating the world we need. So: how do you keep going?

I got an email this morning from a family member about an economist's prediction of a recession or depression coming in 2030. And I noticed -- after reading it -- that it activated something in me. A scarcity, fear-based response. A "why bother" feeling. And I recognized: that is a real barrier. Future-focused fear, a scarcity mindset about what might be coming -- these are some of the most powerful things that make leaders want to stop.

You are naming something that has been largely conditioned out of us. We are very good at imagining the worst-case scenario. We can go there easily and quickly. What has been much harder to access -- because it has been conditioned out of us in various ways -- is the ability to imagine a genuinely thriving, hopeful future. That asymmetry is real, and it is a real obstacle to keeping going.

So what do you do when you are there? Where do you go? What I keep coming back to is recovering to presence. Coming back to this moment. To the leader within me, and to the resources I actually have right now. Not the future. Not the fear. This. Here. Today.

Getting grounded, getting present -- that is always the first move. Brene Brown calls it settling the ball. Because from that ground, everything else becomes possible: access to your capacity, your resources, your clarity about what you can and cannot control. And the ability to get into real relationship with other people -- which is almost impossible when you are not regulated.

And then keep going from there.

Keep going. In our leadership context, keep going does not mean striving, acting, pushing 100% of the time. It means continuing to move with intention, toward something in service of the world -- whether that looks like choosing to stay and be present, or choosing to act. There is a whole range of energy in that.

And here is the myth I want to name: I don't have to be at 100% capacity to keep going. I used to believe I needed to get grounded, remember who I am, get resourced, and then -- once I was at full capacity -- I could go. That almost never happens. If I am going to keep going, I have to learn to move from wherever I am. Even from 30%. Even from tired. Even from uncertain. That still counts.

And you are not alone in it. When I am at 10%, that is just me in isolation. But I am in this with hundreds of thousands of other people -- people who are also trying to keep going, also sourcing from their inner resources, also reaching toward each other. There is an enormous collective energy available when leaders stay in it together. That is not abstract. That is real.

Get present. Know where you are. Remember you are not alone. And then keep going. That is the recipe. We would love to hear what you make of it -- and how you keep going.