The best tech leaders I’ve seen and who remain remarkable over the years are those who are never "done." They evolve, learn, experiment, and change their minds routinely. The constant need to undergo personal growth is both the most fascinating thing about leadership and a source of anxiety and fatigue. It can feel like a never-ending struggle where you can’t stop. Issues and problems keep piling on your plate, and what used to work for you last year no longer seems to be cutting it.
I’ve seen this struggle repeatedly when working with my clients. In coaching them, I’ve learned that naming some of the everyday occurrences of this growth effort and their relationships can help reduce stress and make priorities more straightforward. My recently published book, The Tech Executive Operating System, covers many aspects of managing your focus and energy. In this article, I want to focus on a part that can be utilized by itself without needing to go through the entire book. That is understanding the mechanism of balancing Intention and Inertia with Introspection.