I have had leadership on my life since I was young.\u00a0 My mom told me that when I was 4, I would line up my dolls and stuffed animals and give them inspirational speeches about things they should do with their lives.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I grew up with a dad and a church community that didn\u2019t value women in leadership, yet I continued to find myself in roles of leadership.\u00a0 I was class president all four years of high school and organized community events for youth.\u00a0 I was often told to know my place and got knocked down often which made we question God on why he made me this way if I am not supposed to be this way as a female.\u00a0 \u00a0So, it is quite a delight to read a key leadership book written by a woman who is a good leader.<\/p>\n
Leader-smithing[1]<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>written by Eve Poole, was a good reminder of all the components that go into being a leader.\u00a0 It added areas to my leadership that I should be aware of.\u00a0 One being that delegation is an important part of leadership, this is an area I often take steps backward on.\u00a0 Poole says that leaders should delegate as much as possible unless it is an area of growth needed for the leader.[2]<\/a> I find myself too often doing most of all of it.\u00a0 Recently, I had a co-leader who was let go and her assistant became the interim leader.\u00a0 She is young and only has a few years of experience.\u00a0 I found myself doing almost everything for her and became a crutch.\u00a0 I had to remember to step back and empower her to lead. I could be the lighthouse[3]<\/a> to guide her, but I needed to let her come up to it herself. This is also the first job in a long time that I am not the head leader. I’m navigating how to do it well on a team functioning in flat leadership.<\/p>\n I find it interesting in writing about work-life balance, Poole uses an example of clergy as ones who empty themselves for others[4]<\/a>. As a chaplain working in a social service job, I find myself believing that over-serving is what is required of me. Also, overworking can meet my need to feel good enough or important which puts the focus on me and not those I serve.\u00a0 The annoying Messiah complex pops out again.<\/p>\n Receiving feedback feels like a fearful ominous cloud to me whether it be positive or negative. My job as a leader is to absorb negative feedback and this requires both strength and wisdom.[5]<\/a> I have always been a severely independent person when it comes to getting help or figuring out the hard things.\u00a0 I have had to really learn and build muscle memory[6]<\/a> to have the confidence and composure to receive from others. I believe this roots in my growing up and deep insecurities about myself.\u00a0 To receive from others was week and a sign of failure, this I learned from my dad and his stubborn French family.\u00a0 I still have to battle this lie in my life.<\/p>\n Poole\u2019s thoughts on mood are essential for a leader\u2019s self-awareness. One\u2019s mood creates the weather and influences everyone whether you think is does or not[7]<\/a>. \u00a0Are you stormy and grey or sunshine? Awareness of this can create a safe and transparent atmosphere.\u00a0 Heather Plett\u2019s book The Art of Holding Space: A Practice of Love, Liberation and Leadership[8]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> has taken me further on the journey of the importance of leaders to create safe and loving spaces.\u00a0 Plett describes holding space as \u201cwilling to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they are on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them to trying to impact the outcomes\u2026 we open our hearts, offer unconditional support and let go of judgment and control.\u201d[9]<\/a>She speaks of this in the context of community and leading each other towards empowerment and transformation. Poole\u2019s suite of hearts touch on Plett\u2019s understanding of holding space, but I believe this is an area that can be added to Poole\u2019s deck.\u00a0 Maybe the jokers can be creating trusting atmosphere and holding safe spaces. This is especially necessary for leadership in the humanitarian sector, which deals in people\u2019s hearts and lives, different from a business that deals in products and money.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Poole, Eve. Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/em>. London\u202f; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Poole 2017, 26<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Poole 2017, 27<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Poole 2017, 31<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Poole 2017, 30<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Poole 2017, 12<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Poole 2017, 88<\/p>\n