“The more intentional you are about your leadership growth, the greater your potential for becoming the leader you are capable of becoming. Never stop learning.”
~John C. Maxwell
The adventure of being a Dad and parent provides daily insight for me in my roles of serving and speaking about servant leadership.
Fatherhood provides an important perspective in leadership and how we conduct ourselves and show up for others. When your life is now dedicated to another person or persons, you take a second look at what your true intentions are, for me they were revealed and since then I continue to enjoy many pieces of humble pie. It is hard sometimes to always place others first!
Authentic Self
It takes courage and determination to shift everything in your life to be the person you know you ‘need’ to be, but it also needs to be the person that you ‘want’ to be. This is the fun part. We cannot hide our authentic selves. Our children know when we are present with them or just appeasing the situation at hand because our thoughts are elsewhere.
Refreshing Intentionality
In our role as leaders, we must be able to give reason and explanation for the choices and actions we make. Without understanding who you are and why you are there, how can we begin to voice these things to other people? Knowing ourselves as leaders in our organizations will help us to be present in our roles. People that we serve will notice our self-awareness because it allows us to be present in our role and brings a refreshing intentionality to every action. The same is true as parents. Our children are incredibly observant and pick up on the slightest cues. When we know our why and are strong in ourselves, they can notice that too and will begin to reflect it in their selves.
The Side Effects Of Showing Up
When people see that we are physically present and our heart is also in the organization, they will have motivation to work for us and the mission that we all believe in. It also means that we will be more open minded about the growth of the organization and creative in our solutions. The more that we are secure in ourselves that better we will be able to elevate and guide the people that we serve and care for. We all want our organizations and children to grow into incredible beings. However, if we cannot understand our own role, we limit ourselves from the possibilities. If we are leaders that people feel like they can believe in they will also follow us and work more collaboratively.
Let us lead and parent by example. I wrote an article earlier this year that I’ll include the link to here. I wrote about how the roles that we inhabit will often collide and in each of these roles it is important to know why we do what we do. Take a look and read through and feel free to share your thoughts on your own experiences.
In service,
Greg
Dig Deeper on the Topic:
The Characteristics of the ‘Intentional Leader’
