The simplicity of being a leader
Prior articles discussed Heart & Soul Inspired Leaders. While everyone can be a heart-and-soul-inspired leader, let’s examine how this occurs in the four essential leadership areas of work, self, family and community.
A heart-and-soul-inspired leader is any individual — regardless of age, regardless of role, regardless of title — who embraces his/her personal gifts, strengths and passions to positively impact others and change the world.
This powerful definition of leadership illustrates leadership is about others — co-workers, family and community. Heart-and-soul-inspired leaders change the world by positively impacting others through simple interactions.
Beginning first with a work example, think merely of exceptional customer service anywhere you have ever received it. The key element is someone who positively impacts you. When this occurs, it changes your world.
I took my car recently to a shop after being in an accident. My insurance doesn’t cover a rental car; however, the owner graciously provided a free rental car without my even asking for it. A very basic gesture that positively impacted me because it is exceptional service.
Said another way, think if you interact with nine individuals who provide bad service; while the 10th individual goes above and beyond. This one individual may completely change your entire experience, thereby demonstrating heart-and-soul-inspired leadership.
Looking at a self example of heart-and-soul-inspired leadership is an individual I interviewed for a job one year ago. She was unprepared and didn’t do well. She asked for feedback, accepted it without providing excuses, and applied it during interviews one year later. She got the job! Seeing her seek, accept and apply feedback to improve herself revealed heart-and-soul-inspired leadership because she positively impacted me based on her extreme perseverance.
A third instance of heart-and-soul-inspired leadership is with family. During the past year, due to work and volunteer commitments, I have had to work nearly 100 hours per week, which takes a toll mentally and with family. I am fortunate to have a wonderful wife who has patiently waited 12 months for the volunteer commitments to be complete, while doing most of the work around our home and being very supportive of me. Again, this seems minor, although she exhibited heart-and-soul-inspired leadership because she positively impacted me.
A final occurrence relates to community leadership with two examples. One of the volunteer commitments mentioned in the prior paragraph included me co-leading a team to return to Kenya. We are returning to a village visited two years ago to install water cisterns providing clean water and other economic development initiatives for villagers.
What appears as me positively impacting others by raising money, applying for a grant and co-leading the team; is virtually nothing compared to what this community provides me. The villagers are amazing. They are hardworking, full of grace, and positively impact me in unimaginable ways.
A final example of community heart-and-soul-inspired leadership to positively impact others and change the world is expressing my faith. Faith is a topic we are taught to never discuss publicly. While this makes sense because it can be so decisive, faith is oftentimes the core of an individual’s values — myself included.
If this is true, assuming it is done in a loving and caring manner vs. a proclamation that one’s faith is better than another, this can positively impact others. At a recent conference, I openly expressed my faith. This was followed by the next three speakers also doing the same — unscripted — and discovering later that all four of us were different denominations.
Being a heart-and-soul-inspired leader may seem like a large task; although it is fairly simple and can be done through small items at work, with family, for yourself and in our community.
In many instances, we believe we are positively impacting others; when in fact it is others who positively impact us, resulting in numerous lives and our world being positively changed. Remember this whenever you interact with anyone.
David Yeghiaian is founder of Unique Business Solutions. Reach him at david@unique-solutionsinc.com.