Student of Leadership

Sometimes I hear people say, “Well I’m not an expert in leadership like Annie.” I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. Not because I’m feigning a humble reaction to it but more simply because I don’t believe it. I am not an expert.

I’ve served in leadership roles in business and on boards, but I didn’t name my business Monyok Leadership because I believe I’ve cornered the market and can profess my expertise in Leadership. I named it Monyok Leadership because I consider myself a student of leadership.

What I know about leadership is learned through building relationships with leaders, observing their behaviors and listening to their stories. I find the most interesting lessons in the patterns of behaviors that leaders exhibit and the outcomes that those behaviors elicit.

I often say that leadership can be a lonely seat. In my business, I try to walk alongside leaders, so they don’t face challenges, conflict, or celebrations alone. I feel uniquely positioned to do that because in my work I have the privilege of observing leaders at many levels, across many industries. I get to study their wins and their losses. When they win, I get to learn their strategies and observe their behaviors. And when they lose, I get to learn how they rebound and observe their self-awareness. I feel really fortunate to help them see those patterns clearly for themselves.

In addition to these observations, I study the self-help market on leadership. I read a lot. I listen to a lot of podcasts. And my social media is flooded with leadership gurus. The self-help market is saturated with motivational content that advises on behaviors of top leaders. There are lessons to be learned in this space or I wouldn’t waste my time on it, but I don’t think your success hinges on what time you rolled out of bed this morning, how many miles you walked at your standing treadmill desk yesterday, or if you cleared your office of clutter before you left last night. I think your success is more easily predicted based on your self-awareness and learning agility.

Why Rise + Grind?

With Rise + Grind, I want to share stories that motivate leaders to become students of leadership. There isn’t a class you can take (mine or otherwise) that will make you an expert in leadership. It’s a lifetime of trial and error and whether or not you have the self-awareness to acknowledge you’re not likely to become an expert but have the willingness to continue studying anyway.

I recently wrote a Rise + Grind article about a client and shared it with them. They asked me not to publish it because their situation is still too complicated and raw and even though I didn’t name them, it felt too vulnerable. We agreed to set the article aside until we could add a happy ending. Rise + Grind reaches about 750 inboxes with each publication (*humble brag*). Every time we hit send, we get responses from leaders saying things like “I needed this,” and “I thought I was the only one,” or “Tell me more about this… I’m going through something similar.” It’s why I keep writing it – I promise you I would not be doing this otherwise.

So no, you are not alone. No, you are not the only one with 6 alarms set for tomorrow because your motivation is tanked, and you’re exhausted. No, you are not the only one that lost their temper in a meeting and wished they responded differently. No, you are not the only one that is googling how to get people to stop hitting “reply all” to emails.

And no, you are not the only one who is not an expert.