Leadership Principle #7: Power is Having Options

How many leaders or peers do you know who are “stuck” right now?  Or do you yourself feel like you have no options available?  I see this all the time in personal life as well as business.  When you feel limited, as if there is no way out of your current situation, your energy goes way down.  Your power has been reduced as a result of this perceived lack of options. 

I frequently hear CEOs commenting, “I can’t raise more money,” or “I can’t find the right candidate.”  People miss this all the time -- what these individuals really need is to shift their perspective in order to stop limiting their options.   There are always choices in a situation, and though you may not love the options, they always exist. 

If you are perpetually limiting your options, you are simply limiting your own power.  Power in this context is really the ability to have options, which gives you a power position, whether it’s in a board room negotiation or raising money with a venture capital firm.  Having options in your back pocket gives you strength to work through seemingly impossible scenarios and come out on top.  

But I guarantee you, if you go into the same situation with a fatalistic frame of mind where you are unable – or unwilling – to see the options at hand, you will be significantly limiting your power, and consequently your ability to make the best decision in this situation.

Ultimately, this is a simple concept that plays out in work and life.  The future doesn’t always go according to plan, and you never want to run out of options in life, especially in your role as CEO.  Sometimes what a person needs is a coach to help them figure out their options.  That outside perspective can change their attitude when they realize they do have more options available.  Suddenly their power goes up and they feel energized.

Simply put, the more options you have, the more power you have; the less options you have, the less power you have.  But it can take an outside observer who understands your unique situation to identify all the options you have may have been missing. 

If you are feeling stuck, and unable to see the options available to you, reach out for a conversation.  I look forward to connecting.