Stuck in the PITS

Being "in the pits" is like enduring a sweltering, overfilled port-a-potty, it's a

deeply unpleasant state where everything and everyone feels overwhelmingly negative.

The pits are the most miserable place to find oneself. When a person is in the pits, they

feel like a human dumpster and everything in life becomes a dump truck unloading their

unpleasant cargo on or in them.

After a while of being dumped on, these people’s thoughts and actions show

signs of doubt, disinterest, depression, distancing, demeaning, and demanding

behaviors usually manifested through Pessimism, Isolationism / Intimidation, Timidity,

and/or Sarcasm —“PITS” if you will. While many leaders readily give themselves

permission to live in the pits, authentic leaders will not afford themselves that same

freedom; to them, leaders living in the pits are pitiful leaders!

Pessimistic, isolated, timid, or sarcastic leaders have relinquished their right to

lead. The negative impacts these behaviors generate leave people who are asked,

“How do you like your job” answering, “It’s the pits!” They give this answer because they

work in an environment where pessimism becomes a pitfall to promising success;

isolationism / intimidation are the painful manifestations of personal insecurity; timidity is

a continuous demonstration of deficient confidence presenting as leadership weakness;

and sarcasm is a poor leader’s way of expressing unbridled cynicism. Living in the pits

can occur, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Leaders leaving the pits are promising leaders! They are promising because they

choose optimism above pessimism; they will not isolate themselves but rather get

involved and engage with people; they seek to transform themselves from being timid to

becoming intrepid; and they dismiss sarcastic cynicism replacing it with a sincere

commitment to stay out of the pits and get on with promising leadership that promotes

potential and vision success.

Leaders, don’t get stuck in the pits, get on with the promise. Let’s Go!!