Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: self-care

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Soul of a Leader #2: Finding Partners

    thought-leadersThis chapter was a challenge for me.

    At first blush, I don’t seem to do partnership very well.

    It’s not that I have anything against partnership, sharing or working with others. In fact, I’m a big believer in the complementary nature of people’s interests, skills and working styles.

    But the fact remains that partnership has proven elusive.

    Benefiel offers three phases of extending one’s hand in partnership.

    1. Speaking the heart’s truth
    2. Seeking resonance
    3. Inviting partnership

    Speaking, seeking, and inviting.

    What though, if one (me) is running into bumps in the course of the speaking, seeking and inviting?

    What if one is getting blank stares when speaking one’s heart truth?

    It could be an issue of vocabulary. New ideas are sometimes outside of people’s perceptions. Bridging vocabulary needs to be found before understanding can happen.

    What if one is getting only polite nods when seeking resonance? How do we locate those who will appreciate, understand and get as excited as we are about our idea?

    For some of us this is a real conundrum. It’s wearying to tell the story so many times with so little to show for it. How do I keep my spirits in the game? What is my learning edge here?

    And finally, what if one’s ideas are new enough that the search for partners is more like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack? Not all new ideas are good ideas. And yet one cannot simply give up on a trajectory that includes one’s heart truth!

    I have more personal reflection to do.

    It seems so straightforward and simple when reading Benefiel’s articulate descriptions. And maybe it is. Maybe I simply need to reconnect with the power of my heart’s truth, muster the courage to tell my story again and again and again, and risk working with those who share some if not all of my vision and passion.

    What is your learning edge when thinking about finding partners? What was your main take-away from this chapter?

    Each week I post my reflections from one chapter of The Soul of a Leader by Margaret Benefiel. My reflections are my own and are intended to generate conversation, catalyze additional thinking and encourage mutual learning.
    If you are just joining the discussion now, welcome! Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Soul of a Leader #1: Following the Heart

    thought-leaders“What possible good can result from venturing into the unknown?”

    Margaret Benefiel thus thrusts us into the crux of the leader’s conundrum. We do not all traverse paths paved and mapped by others. Increasingly in today’s ever-changing world, we find ourselves in new territory, exploring not yet imagined possibilities.

    If knowing or controlling the outcome is a prerequisite for leadership, then we are trapped before even beginning. How does anything new ever break in? If the end has to be determined and proven before we begin, there is no means for experimenting with the new, strange or different.

    Benefiel’s bold assertion is that the heart can be trusted as a leader’s compass in charting strange territory, discerning the need for change, and trying entirely new approaches.

    Anyone reading here probably already believes that leadership is not a mechanical catalogue of techniques that one masters and implements with precise and reliable effect.

    What if leadership derives its very nature, form and power from the particular individual who enacts it? What if leadership were an embodied dynamic?

    Suddenly the importance of what sort of person this leader is becomes significant. The quality of one’s character limits or enhances one’s capacity (more…)

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Soul of a Leader by Margaret Benefiel

    thought-leadersIf you believe that you need to be self-sufficient, dominant, proficient, and heartless in order to be a good leader, I don’t know whether to welcome you or warn you about our next Thought Leaders Unpackedâ„¢ series.

    More than a challenge to the prevalent myths about leadership in our culture, Margaret Benefiel’s The Soul of a Leader is a guide to a healthier, deeper and more human understanding of leadership. Ironically, or maybe I should say, poetically, the evidence seems to suggest that such a human approach is also the more effective approach.

    From my perspective, it makes perfect sense that it takes a healthy human person to effectively lead other human persons. Strange that so much of the leadership cult and culture today is content with mechanizing and commoditizing what by nature—people—are unique and diverse in talents, interests, styles and motivations.

    What about you? Are you trying to squeeze yourself into the uncritically accepted mold of the self-sufficient, dominant, proficient, and heartless leader? Are you slowly dying inside in the process?

    What if by doing so you were robbing yourself and the world of the very gift you have to offer… you!? You in all your distinctness, passion, giftedness and power.

    Please join me as we explore this renewing and empowering book together. We will be working our way through one chapter at a time. I will post my reflections here each week. I invite you to contribute your reflections in the comment section. We can all learn more when we share more learning.

    Choosing the Path
    Following the Heart
    Finding Partners
    Daring to Dream

    Staying on Track
    Keeping Mission at the Fore
    Practicing Gratitude
    Battling for the Soul

    Persevering to the End
    Breaking the Cycle of Violence
    Persevering to the End
    Finding Spiritual Guidance

    Here is a link to the book on Amazon.com. Get your copy today and we’ll look at the first chapter next week.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

  • Listen In -> Self Care. A Smart Career Move #5: Keeping Yourself Centered and Attentive

    We conclude our series on self-care as a smart career move with a look at being attentive to how centered (or not) we are.

    The more true we can be to our true selves, the better we can show up at work. If it’s not okay to be who I am, then one of my tasks becomes to pretend to be someone else… to change into someone different than myself. That’s an enormous pressure.

    It’s pressure without poise.

    Poise comes from getting comfortable in your own skin: your own working style, your personal values, your supervision preferences, your areas of interest, your goals and aspirations, your particular skills, etc.

    How centered do you feel as you face the pressures of your working day?

    Listen in.

  • Listen In -> Self Care. A Smart Career Move #3: Learning and Developing Yourself

    We are changing, growing, developing beings.

    It’s a fact. It’s a fact we neglect at our own expense.

    To take care of ourselves, we need to keep growing. To stay interested, engaged and feeling alive in our careers we need to keep developing ourselves.

    There’s nothing worse than the suffocating feeling of being stuck, bored or overwhelmed day in and day out, year after year.

    What is the alternative? In this week’s show, Claudia and I discuss becoming a lifelong learner as a smart career move.

    Where is there room to learn something new? You might be able to simplify a complicated procedure. You might work on improving your leadership effectiveness. You might offer to help a respected colleague in order to learn from them.

    Far from being purely self-serving, taking care of oneself by learning and developing benefits everyone.

    Listen in.

  • Listen In -> Self-Care. A Smart Career Move #2: Staying Inspired and Motivated

    Ever try sprinting when exhausted? Doing your best when you don’t care? Going the extra mile when brimming with resentment?

    Then you know the importance of staying motivated and inspired in your efforts.

    This week Claudia and I discuss the value of motivation to our ability to show up and perform on a consistent basis.

    These are stressful times. How do you keep your spirits up at work?

    Listen in.