Sept. 11: Using Surrender to Your Advantage. Transform Insecurities into Strengths. Weekly challenge and more…

Jared R Chaffee, CFA

Published in

Chapters & Interludes

Sent as a

Newsletter

4 min readSep 11, 2020

Strategy Tuesday: How to Use Surrender to Your Advantage

When I first started working in finance, I was straight out of the Navy and had only a nuclear engineering degree. Definitely a-typical for a job with a big bank. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle, trying to get my bosses to understand the value of my leadership experience and land promotion opportunities leading a team. They didn’t always understand how my military leadership experience translated directly to the industry and I felt insulted and took it personally. This was a struggle for me for a few years.

As a student of Stoicism, I’m learning the hard lesson that I can only control my own mind and perceptions, my response to external events, and my reactions to things that happen around me. I cannot control how other people think or act. Eventually, I learned not to take the doubts or misunderstandings of my bosses personally. Instead, I learned to surrender and shift into action.

I focused on what I could control (rewriting my resume, talking to mentors, looking for a role whose culture aligned better with my background) and I am now in a role and environment where I am valued and able to fully use my background to the advantage of the team I lead.

If you feel stuck in a similar situation (like not being able to move a plan forward at work because you feel unheard), I encourage you to read this post. First, give up the fight over the thing you can’t control, and second focus your energy making change and acting on the things you can control.

Journal Prompt of the Day
Building on the theme of workplace strategy and surrender, try out this #JournalPromptOTD
Where am I struggling to relinquish control at work?
What strategy can I implement today to surrender this and focus on what I can control instead?

First Principles Friday: How to Transform Insecurities Into Strengths

Working as a naval officer, I was very guarded and focused on trying to act and be the way I thought people wanted me to be. But this led to some leadership failures and I ended up losing the credibility I needed to effectively lead. Flash forward several years, and I was out of the navy, newly working with my current company, and had spent some time reading Brene Brown’s Dare To Lead. I realized that what I was missing the most as a leader was vulnerability.

When I say vulnerability, this is what I mean:

Taking the risk of showing up in a way that emotionally exposes us
The willingness to be mindfully present in the moment
The ability to make hard decisions for the long-term health of your organization

After I started doing these things as a leader at work, I saw drastic transformations within my team. I was able to create a culture full of authenticity, safety, trust, and loyalty. Because I lead with vulnerability, my team ultimately grew to the point of taking more risks, being more productive and innovative, and using setbacks as opportunities to grow.

Take a look at this post and think about ways that you, as a leader, can start to show up emotionally and be more present for your team. I will continue this topic next Friday- digging deeper into the downstream effects of being a vulnerable leader and lay out the specific things you need to do. Until then, take a look at this journal prompt.

Journal Prompt of the Day
Building on the theme of leading with vulnerability, try out this #JournalPromptOTD
How can I show up for my team in a way that emotionally exposes me to them?
What is or was holding me back from doing this more before?

Weekly Challenge

As a practice in surrendering, eliminate one thing from your life or routine this week. Think about the clutter surrounding you, and choose something to get rid of- could be that pile of papers on your desk, or a meeting you host that could be delegated to someone on your team. Getting rid of this kind of external clutter can help the internal clutter disappear as well.