In a recent LinkedIn post, Florence Divet ☀️ discusses a common pitfall for leaders: the tendency to avoid difficult situations until they become crises. The leadership coach argues that proactively confronting challenging tasks, rather than taking the easier route, is the key differentiator for scaling businesses and high-performing teams.
Florence Divet ☀️ highlights the deceptive nature of avoiding tough decisions, noting:
“Feels safer. Feels smarter. Feels like you are winning. Except you are not. Because shortcuts compound. Because avoided conversations become team chaos. Because clinging to roles you have outgrown turns you into a bottleneck.”
The core of Florence Divet ☀️’s message is that difficulty is inevitable in leadership; the critical choice lies in deciding which difficulties to tackle and when. She posits that leaders who scale do not wait for problems to force their hand but instead “pick their hard intentionally.” This involves confronting issues like delivering feedback before resentment builds, making decisions before a crisis hits, or stepping up into new responsibilities before the organization stagnates.
The Cost of Avoidance vs. The Power of Proactive Choice
Florence Divet ☀️ contrasts the outcomes for leaders who react versus those who choose their challenges. Leaders who wait for hardship to find them, she explains, often end up exhausted and reactive. In contrast, those who actively select their difficult tasks are better positioned to move forward, inspire trust, and build resilience.
According to Florence Divet ☀️, this proactive approach is not about avoiding struggle altogether but about strategically selecting the battles that will yield the most significant progress. She states:
“It is not about avoiding struggle. It is about picking which battles move the needle.”
This strategic choice, Florence Divet ☀️ suggests, is more crucial than intellect or experience alone. It requires a conscious decision about which hard is truly worth pursuing and the commitment to act on it.
Actionable Steps for Embracing ‘Chosen Hard’
To help leaders implement this philosophy, Florence Divet ☀️ outlines a five-step process:
- Identify your unavoidable hard: Pinpoint the difficult situation without downplaying its significance.
- Pick your hard intentionally: Decide which difficult path to tackle first and take ownership.
- Do small reps daily: Recognize that leadership growth comes from consistent, small actions, not just grand gestures.
- Spot the easy creeping back in: Be vigilant against reverting to easier paths and consciously reclaim control.
- Name the impact: Demonstrate your commitment to choosing hard, which encourages your team to follow suit and build trust.
Florence Divet ☀️ emphasizes that this approach fosters a high-performing team by prioritizing essential but often uncomfortable tasks like feedback and honest conversations. For business scaling, it means embracing clarity, decisive action, and accountability over immediate comfort.
“The hard work of feedback, alignment, and honest conversation comes first.”
Ultimately, Florence Divet ☀️ encourages leaders to reflect on the challenges they are currently avoiding and to take the first step, no matter how small, to confront them. She concludes:
“This week: Pick one hard you have been dodging. Take the first awkward step today. You do not need perfect. You need proof.”
By consciously choosing their hard, leaders can move from a state of reactivity to one of proactive growth, building confidence, resilience, and inspiring their teams in the process.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Florence Divet ☀️ on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on April 21, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →