Laughter and self-care have been an important part of my daily routine during this pandemic. And nothing lifts up my mood like 30-mins of Mr. Bean adventures. Mr. Bean is a legendary series of skits by British comic Rowan Atkins. In one episode, Mr. Bean goes to the local pool. He struts around to the diving board and confidently climbs to the very highest one. As he starts walking towards the end of it the height of it finally gets to him and he panics. He tries to go back but is confronted by two naughty children and so as not to show weakness he clumsily drops off the diving board in a most ungraceful flop.

You might wonder by now, what Mr. Bean has to do with leadership: Getting your first leadership role is a lot like his diving experience. We are often convinced we would make great leaders, and sometimes we can even be a bit overconfident. And once we get up there, the gravity of the role dawns on us, there is no easy way back and of course there are always detractors even if they only live in our heads. In my role as a talent recruiter in the nonprofit sector, my mission is to uncover emerging leaders. It is often not about specific experience on a resume (i.e. managed $5M budget or had 10 direct reports), but rather about self-awareness and the ability to reflect on these experiences. [Read more…]