INsight/ Seemingly Insurmountable Challenges

Photo by Pete F on Unsplash.

Jakarta, 26 June 2025 — How will you help leaders around you who are facing seemingly insurmountable challenges in work or life?

Story

It happened in February 2025. Gallup, the polling company, shared in its Global Leadership Report that the number one thing people around the world want from their leaders is Hope (56%). At some distance, that was followed by Trust (33%). Further down the list came Compassion and Stability.

For Hope to top the list is an indication of the worries and concerns that are felt by many people in our world today. These will include colleagues and leaders we meet at different levels in businesses, governments, and organizations. You may share the sentiment yourself, or know someone who feels that way. 

Our world is facing unprecedented challenges that cause people to look for hope. Some experts speak of polycrises or a metacrisis affecting our world at this time. What I ask your attention for in this post is the people around you who say they are facing what they call insurmountable challenges in their life or work. I’ve heard several leaders mention this term over the past months. That is a worrying perspective.

Challenge

With people around us feeling that hope is in short supply, the question this week is what we as leaders can do to help them through these seemingly insurmountable challenges. In the Grow3Leaders community of practice this week, we have been discussing how three leadership hurdles can hold us back from overcoming challenges. 

The first of these is The Fear Hurdle. Thinking of leaders, we know that fear can stop them from performing at their best. They might hear a voice in their head that sounds like: I’m not good enough. Does that sound familiar? Most leaders have told me they hear this voice from time to time, and more often than they want.

The second hurdle is The Friends Hurdle.  It refers to the opinions of people we care about: friends, colleagues, and sometimes family too. Often, they haven’t kept up with our leadership growth, leading them might question and criticize us, and that might hold us back as leaders. Finally, leaders can encounter The Failure Hurdle, where a perceived risk of failure might hold them back from giving their best. 

Question

How will you help colleagues around you who are facing seemingly insurmountable challenges? That is my question for you this week. And what can you do if this applies to yourself?

We added the word ‘seemingly’ because challenges and how we deal with them are created in our perception. For tough challenges, scientist Albert Einstein said that we cannot solve problems with the same level of consciousness that created those problems. Our job is, therefore, to transform ourselves first before we jump over the hurdles.

Transforming first is a core task for leaders who are investing in their leadership growth. We are helping them through 1:1 executive coaching, by coaching teams of leaders, and through the leadership challenges we offer in the Grow3Leaders community of practice. Why not experience this transformation for yourself? Please get in touch to discover how we can help you and your colleagues overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.