What Are You Carrying That You Don't Need to Carry?

September has always felt like a fresh start to me.

Summer is winding down. Routines are changing. The days are getting shorter, and somehow, the calendar seems to fill up faster than we anticipated. 

In my most recent newsletter, we talked about change, new opportunities, and the importance of starting before you're ready. But sometimes, moving forward isn't about figuring out what we need to add.

Sometimes, it's about figuring out what we need to let go of.

As leaders, we can be especially good at carrying things.

So, as we step into a new season, it may be a good time to pause and ask ourselves:

What am I carrying that I don't need to carry anymore?

• Responsibilities—some required and some we may have taken on ourselves. Maybe one that really belongs to someone else. 

• Expectations. Are they outdated?

• Habits. Maybe the belief that asking for help is a sign of weakness.

• Feeling as if you need to say yes to everything everyone asks of you. 

• Worries.

• The needs and concerns of others.

• Feeling like we need to have all the answers.

• Feeling like you have to do it all.

• And sometimes, we carry things that we've been carrying for so long that we don't even stop to question whether they still belong to us.

The Trap of Always Trying to Carry Everything:

When you're the person who knows how to get things done, it can feel easier to simply do it yourself.

• You know the process.

• You know the expectations.

• You know how you want it done.

• And, let's be honest, sometimes it feels faster to just do it than to explain it, teach it, delegate it, or trust someone else to take it on.

But here's the challenge:

If you continue holding onto and doing everything, you may be preventing someone else from growing—and preventing yourself from growing, learning, and taking on new opportunities as well.

Delegation isn't simply about getting something off your plate. It's about giving someone else the opportunity to learn, contribute, develop confidence, and take ownership.

And it creates something else leaders need: capacity.

The Belief That You Have to Do It All.

You don't.

Sometimes the most effective thing a leader can do is to stop carrying everything and let go.

• Not because you don't care.

• Not because the work isn't important.

But because you recognize that leadership is not about how much you can personally carry.

It's about how much you can help others carry, contribute, and grow.

It means you stop believing that you have to carry everything yourself and you trust others as well as you want them to be and feel successful too.

A good leader provides clarity, resources, expectations, and support—and then allows others to step up.

That is how people grow.

That is how teams become stronger.

And that is how leaders create capacity for the work only they can do.

A September Challenge

As we move into a new season, take a few minutes to consider what you're carrying and what you’re ready to let go of.

Ask yourself:

• What am I carrying that no longer belongs to me?

• What could I delegate?

• What expectation or habit am I ready to release?

• Where do I need to trust someone else more?

And finally:

• What would I have more time, energy, or capacity for if I stopped carrying everything and let something go?

Choose one thing to let go of - Not ten.

• One responsibility.

• One habit.

• One expectation.

• One task.

Then decide what you're going to do with it.

• Delegate it.

• Release it.

• Redefine it.

• Or simply stop carrying it.

Because sometimes the next step in becoming a better leader isn't figuring out what else you need to add.

It's deciding what you can finally put down.

And who knows?

You may discover that what you thought you were carrying alone was never meant to be yours to carry in the first place.

What did I personally let go of today? 

I’m still working on this because like each of you – I’m a work in progress and this is an area in which I struggle. 

Here's to a lighter, stronger, more intentional fall for each and every one of us.

Contact me if you want to have a conversation about this either one-on-one or maybe host a workshop or keynote for your team. 

You Got This! And I Have Your Back!

- Ann