It's been said, "No plan ever survives its first contact with reality."
Achieving a vision or dream requires a leader to be realistic about plans, expectations, resources, people, and circumstances; pilots call it “situational awareness.”
You need a clear, open mind, and a sharp focus. It also means standards and milestones to chart your course—and reasonable expectations about progress.
When we hit the inevitable oops, setback, failure, or unexpected twist, realism asks that we accept, forgive, and change direction accordingly rather than hold onto a regret ... or to wish or hope that things would be different.
Consider a practice for this week: Where might a good dose of acceptance and understanding -- realism -- help you be more adaptive and nimble, and for that matter, less stressed?
David Peck
The Recovering Leader
Principal and Senior Executive Coach
The Goodstone Group, LLC