Who you are is how you lead
The Lead is back with a new scope, shape and schedule
I think of leadership as our highest calling. It’s what we were born to do. We fulfill our calling not by gaining seniority or authority, but by stretching ourselves (our selves), becoming ever more fully human in relationship with other humans. More generous, more compassionate, more skillful, more creative.
But that comes second. First we need to be able to see our selves clearly, recognize our strengths and our limitations, and lean into both.
The work of becoming a leader will be difficult and uncomfortable. It will hurt at times. It will scare you.
But it will be one of the great joys of your life.
Hello friends,
After a summer hiatus, it feels right to be reconnecting with you—and re-launching The Lead—on this particular Monday, which is Labor Day here in the States.
And in 2021, Labor Day hits different. Our view of the system we’re working in has sharpened over the past 18 months. Our collective awareness of its inequities and injustices is magnified. Our resources are spent. Our relationship to work is shifting.
What a time to be a leader! Friends, I am energized and inspired by the possibilities of this moment. But to fully meet the moment, our leadership needs its own shift. An upgrade. An evolution. New paradigms for understanding what real leadership is and new practices to help us bring it forward.
Going forward, you’ll hear from me every week, on Monday, with a brief prompt or practice (see above for an example) designed to help us do this inner work. They’ll be both light and deep, experimental and evidence-based, challenging and supportive. I’ll host additional content on each week’s theme (meditations, stories, discussions) on Instagram and LinkedIn, so please do join us over there.
If this doesn’t sound like what you signed up for, please feel free to unsubscribe below. No hard feelings. But if you stick around, consider sharing The Lead with a couple friends or coworkers and inviting them to join you. We’ll be going deep, and it’s good to go together.
See you next week.
Kristen