"I had no choice..."
"We have to..."
"There are no other options..."
Anytime I hear words like the ones above from a leader, I get the shivers.
Those are not words of leadership.
They are words of survival from someone trapped, fighting for their existence. Not someone I want to lead my team, organization or country.
A conscious leader knows that there are always choices.
"Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation." — Viktor Frakl
Sure, the price to pay may be very high, but the choices are there.
To do something because we choose to, infuses completely different energy into our actions.
I don't want leaders who are just reacting to events. Who do things just because they feel there are no choices.
I want leaders who dare to choose.
And that means for me to do the same.
I choose my words and my actions.
"Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response." — Viktor Frakl