{"id":20418,"date":"2018-11-16T19:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-11-17T03:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=20418"},"modified":"2018-11-16T19:00:30","modified_gmt":"2018-11-17T03:00:30","slug":"if-your-actions-inspire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/if-your-actions-inspire\/","title":{"rendered":"If your actions inspire…."},"content":{"rendered":"

Before you can lead someone else, you must be able to lead yourself.\u00a0 That includes your sense of purpose, your self-actualization, discipline and humility.\u00a0 But the question is:\u00a0 how does one truly become a good leader?\u00a0 The answer is to read and steal from others!\u00a0 According to Adler in How to Read a Book,<\/em> reading has been shown to improve emotional intelligence, organizational effectiveness, communication, and to reduce stress.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 With all of this criteria in hand, being an effective leader is as simple as 1-2-3!<\/p>\n

So where do we begin to reach out to build leadership skills?\u00a0 Well, the Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice <\/em>is definitely a start!\u00a0 I felt most drawn to the unit about the development of leaders:\u00a0 knowing, doing and being.\u00a0 I think this is a crucial focus area for learning how to become a positive leader.\u00a0 Many leaders feel they are leaders \u2013 only because of their title![2]<\/a> However, Leo Tuz, a famous Chinese philosopher, said: \u00a0\u201cA leader is best when people barely know he exists.\u00a0 When his work is done and his aim fulfilled, they will say \u2013 we did it ourselves.\u00a0 This is truly what makes a good leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors noted that social identity theory refers to the process by which people define their self-concept in terms of their membership in various social circles.\u00a0 Research has shown that members who identify strongly with their organization and its values perform more effectively than those who do not.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 So, a great leader must help individuals to believe in their positions and their unique ability to make a difference.<\/p>\n

It is believed that people in authority influence their followers, but I believe that followers also influence the leader.\u00a0 We must always learn from our clients, patients or congregants as we are \u2018leading them,\u2019 because they are the ones who will either embrace our ideas or negate them.\u00a0 Keeping an open mind as a leader and embracing the value of our followers is crucial.\u00a0 Marian Anderson, a famous singer and philanthropist, once said: \u201cLeadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.\u201d\u00a0 We cannot know their needs without listening to our followers.<\/p>\n

When I worked as a Director of the American Red Cross, changes in protocol were continual and ongoing.\u00a0 I learned that change can cause disillusionment in employees who do not cope well with transition.\u00a0 So, with each new change that was directed by Corporate and that I had to \u201csell\u201d to my sales reps, I would require from Corporate that they dictate three positives for this change.\u00a0 Literally, I would \u2018require\u2019 three reasons why this change was a positive for my reps or for the company before I would introduce it to my employees for implementation.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Corporate was not too happy with me at times, but I was able to bless my reps with a positive approach to the change, thus curbing work avoidance mechanisms to kick in.\u00a0 So, there are effective tools that leaders can utilize to create a positive culture with regards to the negatives that change<\/em> can cause to those who are not able to easily accept it.<\/p>\n

In Leadership Without Easy Answers, <\/em>I found the ideas on charisma within leaders to be fascinating.\u00a0 The author noted: \u201cWe attribute charisma to people who voice our pains and provide us with promise.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Through this viewpoint, leaders are often seen as larger than life.\u00a0 But the author explained that \u2018they do not realize that the source of this charisma is their own yearning.\u2019\u00a0 The author continued with the fact that \u201cauthority constrains leadership because in times of distress, people expect too much.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 A person can exercise authority over others when in a formal position, but that does not make them a \u2018leader.\u2019 \u00a0Leadership is a process – while a leader is a person of influence and motivation.\u00a0 Helping others find their own internal strength is what makes a truly great leader.<\/p>\n

I have actually found this scenario true in my Hospice leadership role.\u00a0 I can\u2019t change the health of someone who is suffering, but I can offer questions to them to help them see a new ending for their life.\u00a0 \u201cSo, what do you feel will happen after you die?\u00a0 Do you feel peace in that?\u00a0 Can I help you see another way?\u00a0 Let me tell you about Heaven\u2026.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The same is true for helping them accept their situation (adaption) as well as challenging the norms of the situation for my patients.\u00a0 \u201cYes, this suffering isn\u2019t God\u2019s best, but this isn\u2019t God\u2019s final answer either.\u00a0 Heaven is waiting, and Jesus is with you, so you are never alone on this journey through life.\u201d\u00a0 I often find myself challenging the human \u2018norm\u2019 of my patients thinking they are immortal because they can\u2019t face the fact that they are dying.\u00a0 Yet, I explain that we are all dying – one day at a time – from the moment we are born.\u00a0 But then I try to help them accept that we are actually dying only on earth, because our eternal life awaits.\u00a0 It is such a privilege to help patients understand that there is so much more ahead of them on their journey Home.<\/p>\n

A final, powerful quote from John Quincy Adams says it all: \u201cIf your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are a Leader.\u201d\u00a0 So true!<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Mortimer Adler and Charles Doren, How to Read a Book<\/em> (New York: Touchstone, 2011).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice <\/em>(Boston: Harvard Publishing, 2010)<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid, 165.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ronald Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers <\/em>(Cambridge: Harvard Publishing, 2001)<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid, 66.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before you can lead someone else, you must be able to lead yourself.\u00a0 That includes your sense of purpose, your self-actualization, discipline and humility.\u00a0 But the question is:\u00a0 how does one truly become a good leader?\u00a0 The answer is to read and steal from others!\u00a0 According to Adler in How to Read a Book, reading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1405],"class_list":["post-20418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lgp9-nohria","cohort-lgp9"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20418"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20419,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20418\/revisions\/20419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}