Leading Through Adversity

Hi, I’m Nataly, and even though we may not know each other, I want you to know that I GET IT. 

I spent most of my life and two decades of my career as a business executive, entrepreneur, and leader believing that struggle was an inevitable part of doing anything challenging or meaningful.

Even though on the outside I was incredibly successful and appeared positive and confident, I was often overwhelmed with self-doubt, pushed myself to the limit of exhaustion daily, and over-focused on everything that was wrong or negative -- in myself, at work, in the teams I led.

But I didn’t think that how I felt had any impact on my ability to do my work or to positively impact other people. I adopted a martyr mentality and believed that as long as I cared about my team and doing great work together, my own emotional health -- or lack thereof -- didn't matter.

I took pride in never taking care of myself: Things like self-care or emotional well-being were for the “weak” and I was a tough cookie, who could struggle through any challenge!

Until one day I completely burned out. 

This was the scariest time in my life. I faced losing everything that was meaningful to me — my health, my family, my team, the company I worked so hard to build, my future. 

It’s been six years and I still can’t talk about this painful experience without tears in my eyes.

When I look back, I realize that I had been experiencing daily burnout regularly for decades. But I didn’t have the courage to admit it to myself nor the skills to know how to break free from it. The thing is, burnout isn't just about overworking (which I was). It's also caused by not having a supportive relationship with yourself and assumptions about what others expect from you (in my case, I thought everyone expected me to always be positive and confident.)

With a lot of inner work, research, trial and error, and doing things I never ever thought I would do -- things like acknowledging my difficult feelings and sharing them with others, treating myself with compassion, and learning how to talk back to my brain when it caused me to struggle -- I found a new way to work and live.

I learned how to struggle less and had more energy to bring to the work and people I cared so much about.

I made my emotional fitness and mental health my non-negotiable priorities and saw the quality of my work, impact, and relationships soar.

I began to lead with more authenticity and vulnerability and was blown away by how much closer, committed, and stronger my teams became.

I went from daily burnout and overwhelm to feeling confident that I could lead through any challenge or crisis.

This is what's possible for you.

This is why I created Leading Through Adversity, after sharing what I've learned with tens of thousands of leaders and teams: To help you make yourself a priority, as a leader and a human, so you can break free from burnout (or near burnout), struggle less, and bring your full awesome capacity to your work and the people you care about. (Yes, during a pandemic.)

I think you know deep down that you don't want to just "tough it out" or "make it through". You want to do more than that but without having to push harder, become tougher, or feel more overwhelmed.

I would love to show you the way and hope you will join me for Leading Through Adversity.

With gratitude,

Nataly

We're in the midst of a pandemic, you're often exhausted and overwhelmed, your to-do list keeps growing and the pressure to get your work done AND help your colleagues get through this storm is intense.

And I'm asking you to add one more thing to your list and join some leadership program now?

No way.

I hear you, believe me! I really do! If I landed on this page a decade ago, as I was caught in the grips of daily burnout and just trying to put one foot in front of the other, I probably would have closed it immediately.

Emotional fitness skills? Leading with more energy and compassion? Making self-care a realistic priority for myself and my team? All that was "soft stuff" I would have dismissed as unnecessary and extra.

I had projects to launch and a team to motivate, and none of the "soft stuff" was ever going to help. Plus, where in the world would I find the time?

If this is how you feel, please know that I have zero judgement and immense compassion and understanding. I was in your shoes.

But I want to encourage you -- no, implore you! -- to reconsider. And you don't need to take my word for it.

Research shows that:

• When you improve your emotional health and well-being, you perform at the top of your potential across every area: You're more productive and creative, you make better decisions, including during crises, and you are more effective in your job.
• Leaders who successfully lead through crises are more open about their emotions and create greater emotional awareness and openness within their teams.
• Practicing gratitude, kindness and compassion not only reduces your own stress but dramatically improves the resilience and motivation within your teams.

If I could go back and say one thing to my leader self 10 years ago when I was struggling, burning out, and refusing to care about my emotional health, I would say this:

Your emotional health and well-being are not extras or fluff. They are your RESPONSIBILITY to yourself, your work, and the people you care about.