Deal With The Fog
Some days, the work of leadership can be overwhelming and difficult. It can even lose meaning. As a result, life can feel like an endless stream of tasks and problems, all wanting our time and attention, and all wanting to be solved or be done at that very same moment. For many, this loss of meaning can feel like a fog has rolled in, and that today’s struggles will never end. Furthermore, it feels like the fog will never lift.
But with quiet courage, reflection, and patience, one day the fog does lift. Once again, we find a renewed sense of meaning in our work, and often in our life. Then, we move forward with a fresh sense of purpose, perspective, and some times a renewed sense of passion. For all leaders and managers, young and old, need to remember that this fog happens to everyone. We also have to remember that it will lift.
There are two things that help when the fog has descended upon us. The first is to build a bigger community. If the word “community” is too touchy feely, then call it a network or support system. Whatever the chosen name, it is this group of people who will support us, offer perspective to us, and just be with us in the midst of the difficult and challenging days.
One key to this aspect of building community is to make sure it is multi-generational. This is important because different people from different ages and seasons of life can generate a better quality of reflection and support. Some may already have been through a period like this before in their life. Others will ask us questions that we would not normally ask ourself, thereby creating a more holistic and healthier understanding of what is happening within us at work and during the rest of life’s journey.
The second key to dealing with the fog is not to just focus on reducing our stress. Often, young leaders and managers do not have any control over the number of inputs they are dealing with at one time period. They may think they do, but during a foggy time period, there is a tendency for everything to feel both urgent and important. Prioritization is hard to do during a fog.
Instead of focusing only on stress reduction, I regularly encourage young leaders to increase their level of inspiration and meaning in their life. This is an investment of time and energy which has both short and long term benefits. Over the decades, leaders have shared with me that they do this by going to a concert, listening to an inspirational speaker, reading a book, or listening to a podcasts. All of these choices have all given them hope, perspective, and new insights.
Nevertheless, quiet courage, reflection, and patience does take time and energy to maintain in the middle of the fog. We all, young and old, need to realize that the arrival of a fog is not a one time experience. Just like in nature, some days the fog happens, and other days it lifts. The key is to have systems and people in place before the next fog comes rolling in. Then, with determination and tenacity, we can move forward through the fog, being clear about our priorities and non-negotiables. In the end, inner strength in combination with a clear sense of purpose can, and does make a difference during a foggy period.
Serve With Love
“Leadership requires love,” writes James Autry in his book, The Servant Leader: How to Build a Creative Team, Develop Great Morale, and Improve Bottom-Line Performance (Prima Publishing, 2001). And I agree 100%. Autry is referencing the word love as a verb, which describes a behavior and a way of thinking more than the word love as a noun which describes a set of feelings.
As Autry further explains, “Leadership is not about being boss; it’s about being present for people and building a community at work…. Leadership is less concerned with pep talks and more concerned with creating a place in which people can do good work, can find meaning in their work, and can bring their spirits to work.”
When we help young leaders and managers learn that leadership requires love, we are helping them to understand that serving with love is a way of thinking about leadership that is built on the premise that we do not change people as much as we create an environment where people can flourish and become their best selves. It is a choice to see the best in people, and to build on their potential.
Furthermore, serving with love always begins first at the local, community level, rather than at the corporate infrastructure level. Next, serving with love always begins at the individual level before the team or department levels. Finally, serving with love always begins with building healthy relationships, more than simply executing goals, objectives, and plans. While corporate infrastructure can have a big impact, and the role of teams can influence outcomes, effective leadership is always local, individual, and relational.
When young leaders and managers grasp the significance of this perspective, they can better utilize the company’s core for success. They can invest in relationships, and help create good jobs and meaningful work. They can choose integrity first, see others as whole people, and expand their emotional intelligence. Then, they can better plan their work and then work their plan. They also can focus on teamwork, respect complexity, and build community. They can even deal with the fog that comes from leading. But in the end, they must always serve with love.
For it is this choice that creates the foundation for success in the ever shifting and changing market conditions before us at this time period. And, as we all know, the challenges of 2024 are great and numerous. They will be complex and complicated. Still, when everyone in leadership and management positions get better at leading and managing people, we create a unique capacity to move forward with courage, clarity, and commitment.
As a result, we can transform our fear of the unknown into confidence in our future, individually and collectively. We can build a flexible, nimble, and lean organization built on thoughtfulness, integrity, and respect. We also can build a unified core, capable of capitalizing on the opportunities that will arise in a constantly shifting landscape during the coming years. And this will make a profound difference, worthy of all the time and efforts to make this happen.
© Geery Howe 2024
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