The year is 2012.  It’s June.  And I’m in the restroom of a hotel.

The audience that I’m about to address is gathering in a room just a few doors down the hallway.

This feels like a stretch. Bigger than what’s come before.

And I’ve taken a few moments to myself.

While it’s true that the risk of walking out onto the stage of innovation and uncertainty can be mitigated (by experimenting, taking incremental steps, researching and preparing, looking at other models of success, not putting too many eggs in one basket, making attempts in low stakes situations), no one ever went out on that stage to find that there was nothing to lose.

That’s the stretch.

And it turns out that one of the key factors of magnificent leadership that has emerged from my interviews from The Making Magnificence Project™ and my work with clients, is a deep determination for success and an openness to iteration.

The knowing is in the doing. And the success is in the stretch.

Are you creating a culture of innovation where failure is understood as iteration?

Where expectations are high, and resilience, rather than perfection, is encouraged?

Where it’s safer to have a stake in the outcome as opposed to passing the hot potato?

I’m back from sunny Ft. Lauderdale where I was invited to speak for the 2^nd year in a row at a CFO Summit for senior executives in the media industry.

This year’s topic? The Making Magnificence Project™ — Keys to Leadership Success.

And despite all experience, and delivering what a repeat attendee called “another fantastic presentation,” I tripped three times on the center table at the front of the room.

If you’re interested in magnificent leadership, I have an opening.

To have a mutually exploratory conversation: sarah@sarah-levitt.com