What is leadership?
Leadership is an interactive conversation that gets people comfortable with the language of responsibility and personal commitment.
Leadership isn’t just for the people at the top. Everyone can learn to lead by discovering the power that resides within each of us to make a difference and be ready when the call to lead comes.
Albert Einstein once said: “We must be careful not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles but no personality. It cannot lead; it can only serve.” Leaders know, and science has discovered, the deeper purpose of emotionality: the worn-out mechanisms of emotion allow two human beings to receive the contents of each other’s minds. Emotion is the messenger of love; it is the vehicle that carries all the signs from one overflowing heart to another.
Leadership applies to all facets of life—a skill you can learn to broaden your perspective, set the context for a goal, understand the dynamics of human behavior, and take the initiative to get where you want to be.
Here are five guiding principles that guide respectful conversations:
1. When peers connect, changes occur. Effective coaching can occur in the
conversation dance floor.
2. It’s okay to start a conversation by confronting the other person with questions.
that seem awkward but set the stage for a respectful exchange. why waste time
in small talk? Simply ask information-seeking questions that are to the point, such as: “What are
are you here for How do you want to spend our time together?”
3. Conversations are not meant to be structured. Be open to conversations that
you are not prepared for the other person’s interests and focus on them (not your own).
aim).
4. Don’t get carried away with solving problems that may not matter to the other person.
Allow time for the person to get to what is really important. Provide spaces where
can express their doubts and fears by being a thoughtful listener, without
take responsibility for fixing or discussing the problem. After all, you have invited
the person to talk about what matters to her or him, not you, so allow time for
the articulation of those thoughts and feelings.
5. Personal transformation happens when you ask the right questions, not because of
providing answers. When you focus on the solution, you are trying to sell the person.
something. When you allow people to answer their own questions, they discover
what they didn’t know — and what it takes to move on. Staff
transformation leads corporate transformation, one person at a time.
That is why leadership development is not an event. It is a process of participating in respectful conversations where the leader acknowledges her own feelings and those of others in building safe and trusting relationships. For the human being, feeling deeply is synonymous with being alive.
