Yes, leadership matters!
As I transition from my role as Founding Director of the Concordia MBA back to my focus on consulting, one of the clearest “take aways” from this incredible learning experience is a renewed awareness of how very much leadership matters. To the organization, the people in it, and to our communities.
We often talk about “employee engagement.” Leadership can take us beyond just engagement. Frederick Buechner says that our calling is “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” If we are in that place, living out our calling, we are more than engaged – we are enlivened and energized by our work and others are drawn to that energy.
I was fortunate to experience a sample of that intersection as we built the MBA program. Two aspects of leadership contributed significantly to that experience, hence my renewed awareness that leadership makes a difference.
Let’s start with “deep gladness.”
While there are many aspects to what brings us deep gladness, using our best gifts is an essential element. Leading the development of this MBA program called forth the best in me — bringing people together, drawing out their ideas, synthesizing it all, and making things happen. Waking up every day knowing that my work would call forth the best in me was a delicious experience. As leaders, when we are using our best gifts and enabling others to use theirs, people are drawn to the energy that creates. Because of this energy, our team accomplished more than many thought was possible. As a leader living out an aspect of my calling, I helped create the energy that made the impossible possible. Leadership can draw forth the “deep gladness” in team members.
That gets us half way to the calling. What about “the world’s deep hunger” and leadership?
Dr. Don Christian believed in the dream of the Concordia MBA developing leaders who make a difference in Central Texas and he inspired me with his vision. Together, we inspired others in the Concordia community to believe in themselves and join with us to collaboratively create the program. And that team inspired students and faculty to join us in the journey. Where there was only a dream, now there is a unique MBA program serving Central Texas. Doing this work allowed me and others to know that in this way, we were meeting the world’s deep hunger. Dean Christian’s inspirational leadership put us in touch with that feeling.
The bottom line? When we can lead from that place where we know that our “deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” our leadership is compelling. When we lead with our heart and soul, as well as our minds, we create a space where others can be more than engaged. They can be enlivened, energized and enriched by their work. They too can find that intersection.
And then, yes, leadership matters!
If the leadership that comes from my “deep gladness” might serve to energize and enliven your organization, let’s talk. My consulting work is aimed at making organizations better for everyone – employees, customers, and all stakeholders. You and others in your organization will experience an authentic and heartful presence as we work together to build your future.
If you want your board or executive team to live up to its potential, call me. Together we can make a difference.