The Gelin kids are of the Harry Potter age. My personal favorite was ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’. There was for one delightful moment, in particular, that you all surely know.
But before that, let’s imagine for a moment (and just maybe you don’t have to) that there’s a difficult event ahead of you. It’s coming. You know it. It needs to happen. You must:
- Confront the bully.
- Write and deliver the eulogy.
- Advise the teammate to know they let you down.
- Tell your friend you don’t want to be friends anymore.
- It’s time to move on from a romantic relationship
- The floor is yours – start the presentation
After 20 years, there are fewer moments that rattle me. It’s because of practice. In the past, it just wasn’t that way. It’s only out of necessity, and because of practice. In the past, the rattling was much more frequent. Facing a difficult issue at the office, I would have trouble sleeping for days. I had cold sores. I’ve blubbered through some instances when I had to confront or terminate a coworker. It’s true, I’ve procrastinated some of my difficult decisions for over a decade. I have yet to experience when the procrastination made things better.
I found the moment in the movie touching; there were times I’d dream my dad would show up and take on the big challenges, so I didn’t have to. Just like Harry imagined. But the moment comes, you realize no rescue is coming, and it’s time to get the job done. Or not.
When facing a difficult moment and lacking confidence, I will ask myself what a better leader will do. Then I’ll pretend I’m that better leader and do it anyway. Hasn’t killed me yet.
And it won’t kill you. Expecto Petronum!
Until next time,
Tom Gelin
Air Flow Inc.
8355 West Bradley Road
Milwaukee, WI 53223
414-351-1999
