Management Question:
Do you approach each new day with a set of logical convictions in your head that help you attain your goals? Are you focused intently on achievement, winning, and gain? If so, bravo! You have a great sense of objective management skills and behaviors. You are being important.
This is needed for results.
Leadership Question:
Are you also checking that “gyroscope” in your heart to see if you are being an actual caring, empathetic, and understanding human being while you achieve your results? Are you getting your results through healthy relationships? If so, then even better! You have a great sense of subjective leadership skills and behaviors. You are now being influential.
This is needed for excellence!
By definition, leadership is interpersonal. However, at its core, leadership is personal. It is personal to you and to the people that you lead.
So, if you accept that leadership is personal, then here is a bigger question for you. It has to do with your leadership stability and your long-term effectiveness in getting things done with the help of others.
The question is this: Do you lead with PEACE?
Do you lead with these elements:
- Purpose
- Excellence
- Accountability
- Certainty
- Equipping Others?
Actually, more importantly than an acronym of P.E.A.C.E. is the real meaning of leading with peace. It means leading with calm waters on the inside while it is rocky waters on the outside. It means being able to keep your cool under feast or famine conditions. Peace is the fulcrum in leading with balance.
Would you rather follow someone who had internal peace and displayed it on the outside, or follow someone who didn’t have that calming effect on their leadership?
Question:
So how are you doing on finding the peace to lead your team most effectively? Do your followers feel the comfort of your internal peace as you lead them, or do they feel the turmoil, stress, and discomfort that you may have coursing through your veins?
Take a good loooooong look in the mirror and ask yourself this question:
What do I do to recharge and get peace in my life and in my leadership?
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About the Author
As a Christian leader in business, I get my peace from living my faith in Jesus Christ. Specifically, I get it from Philippians 4:6-9. It works EVERY time for me. Others get their peace from their sources. If you don’t have a source, here is a tip to help you find peace: Seek Truth.
When you find it, you will find your peace.
Wanna’ see where I recently experienced a great sense of peace and freedom? I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend at a Souly Business conference for men in the North Georgia mountains. Above is a great video that expresses how I recharged my soul with other business men. There is a sister organization for women called True Identity.
Imagine being able to display true inner peace to the ones you lead. Find that peace and watch your personal leadership effectiveness skyrocket!
I have a friend, Jerry Weinberg, that has written extensively about technology subjects. He has a four volume series entitled “Quality Software Management” that captures a host of useful thoughts that are quite practical for a manager. However, the thing that impacted me the most was contained in the appendix of the last volume. It was a questionnaire that had the following questions for anyone aspiring to lead.
Question 1 (5 points for each yes)
During the past month,
1. Have you been as kind as you want to be?
2. Have you been as generous as you want to be?
3. Have you been as patient as you want to be?
Question 2 (25 points for an honest answer, no points if you cannot answer)
Why are you seeking power to change things?
Question 3 (5 points for each yes)
In the past month,
1. Have you been handling both fear and hope with moderation?
2. Have you been taking care of your health?
3. Have you been staying centered and taking responsibility for yourself?
4. Have you been listening and thinking before trying to help others change?
Question 4 (10 points for each yes)
In the past month,
1. Have you forgiven yourself for failures?
2. Have you learned from them (give examples)?
Question 5 (20 points if first answer is yes and second answer is no)
Are you causing happiness
1. by your coming?
2. by your going?
Extra credit (10 points for each yes)
1. Are you hating less?
2. Are you loving more?
— Tom