What I love about leadership can be akin to how we accept/deal with/embrace moment-to-moment changes in the weather.

The same scenario happens when leading others. A meeting, a key hire, an important proposal, or an event does not go as planned. You and your team thought it would go one way, but it went the other direction and fast. You still must drive and move forward.

Can there still be joy, challenge, and excitement? Absolutely! There might even be more joy, challenge, and excitement depending on how the moment is embraced, especially by the leader.

On those days and in those moments, as a leader, when you are prepared for one thing but something completely unexpected happens, it is worth asking:

• How am I responding?
• How am I embracing the current reality?
• Is how I am responding in line with my core values?
• How am I treating others along the way?
• When I go to sleep tonight, how will I feel about my actions and thoughts?
• When I wake up in the morning, how will I feel about my actions and thoughts?
• What did I learn about myself, others, and the nature of life?

From one day to the next, circumstances, people, policies, practices, and behaviors are always changing–that is life. With the top on or the top off and if it is sunny or not, the day still moves on.

As a leader, how do you choose to embrace those unexpected moments?