You’ve taken the seventh course this year, you read all the books, you’ve asked all the questions, you’ve uncovered all of the ‘yeah buts’ and the ‘it will never works’. Now it’s time to ask yourself, “have you taken a step to actually implement what you have learned?” Think about whether or not you are continuously burying yourself in the learning, but never actually taking action to implement what you have learned. And if you have put this strategy into motion, have you stuck with it long enough to see it through? Yeah…I was that person who loved to learn but never actually put that learning into my leadership game. I was constantly finding myself standing on the sidelines with all of these great ideas but never getting in the game. So I want to ask you this question, “Are you trying what you learned?”
Leadership is hard because it is all about taking calculated risks, putting yourself out there, and being comfortable with failure. You’ve got to be tough and you’ve got to push yourself to step into the game, shift when needed, and keep moving forward. The thing is…sometimes we catch ourselves being ok with status quo and seem to end up on a hamster wheel of trying to learn it all, going nowhere and stacking on frustration and overwhelm. The best way to get out of overwhelm, is to get out of overwhelm. In order to do that, you have to take steps forward, you have to implement what you are learning, and you have to take risks. We often look to our gurus and read about all the latest and greatest strategies. It definitely inspires us, but then a lot of the time that inspiration stops there. We don’t actually implement that strategy because it is scary and really, really hard.
For me, I researched all about creating a digital course on a very specific system that I use in my leadership that has had a lot of success. I wanted to build this course and share this system step by step. I researched, I did my homework, I wrote the course and recorded the videos. But when it came time to actually launch it into the world, I froze. I was waiting for everything to be perfect, until I knew it all, and had learned it all. The thing was, I cannot believe how much I learned when I finally got in the game. Finally, I just went for it and launched my course. Holy cow that was when the learning, the motivation, and the clarity happened. If I had waited, I never would have had this experience and my digital course would still be in the vault. In all of it’s imperfections, it became perfectly imperfect with constant improvements and shifts as I moved through the process. Action plays a big part in success. And we all know that action can also lead to mistakes and failure, which also make things better because we learn from those mistakes.
The point of this story is you do not know what you need to know, like really at a really deep level, unless you get in the game (Porterfield, 2022). I am not saying, stop learning, stop listening to the podcast, stop reading the books, stop learning from the coaches, but rather, I am saying, where can you start to get your feet wet with what you are learning, while you are learning it? If you have been learning how to workshop meetings and do less housekeeping, it is time to just jump in, take a risk, and try to workshop a meeting. If you are wanting to be more visible in the classroom and have learned my four phase system that I teach you in School Administrator’s Academy, then choose the first phase and start. Remember, always when you start something, it will be messy and uncomfortable. But stick with it, that is just the way it is when you try something new. But it always gets easier with time and commitment. That is another thing, we have to implement…commitment. The willingness to stick with it even if it is hard or risky. It will feel really uncomfortable and you may feel like you don’t have it together but that is all part of levelling up. Commitment and resiliency to implement what you are learning will pay off big time! It’s time to do the thing my friend!
The cool part about getting in the game is that there are two sides to it. The one side is the starting point where you actually start to take action. That part is really tough because it is new and risky. You will have setbacks but you’re forced to stumble through them, you figure it out. That is the other side, when you actually figure it out and with that comes solutions, rewards, and results (Porterfield, 2022). Remember that side of implementing and getting in the game, because that side is why you do get in the game in the first place.
I know this was kind of a tough love post, but I come from a place of being the endless learner and never getting in the game….until I did. That changed everything! I became an administrator, a digital course creator, an entrepreneur where I get to meet leaders all over the world, and my life changed for the better. So do the thing. Cut the chord a little on the learning and start taking action. My next game that I am jumping into as we speak, is actually learning to cook for my gut health. Yep, I have alot of work to do but it all starts with taking small steps of action WHILE I am learning.
Get in the game. Take action even if you don’t feel ready. You will figure it out as you go and you will learn way more this way. Remember, we may never feel fully prepared so do it anyway. Jump in and just start!
Thank you for checking out my blog and putting some of these things into action….right?! ;). Because you took the time to read my blog post, I have a free download that teaches you how to start up and shut down your day to boost productivity and efficiency.
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Porterfield, A. (2022, July 26). Entrepreneurship Rule #1: You Have to Get In The Game. In Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast.
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