Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: support

  • Loving Monday: Who’s Got Your Back?

    loving_mondayWho’s got your back?

    It’s a challenge to stay fully engaged and keep working hard when we feel we’re on our own.

    We need friends. We need fans. We need allies. We need cohorts. We need cheerleaders. We need partners. We need loyalists.

    We need to know that someone is on our side.

    Who is that person for you?

    Who’s got your back when you’ve made a mistake and need an advocate?

    Who’s got your back when you need a leg up, an encouraging word, or some cover from criticism?

    Whose name comes to mind for you? Anyone?

    If no one comes to mind, then consider building a couple closer relationships. It doesn’t have to be anything major or intimate.

    What you want is to begin building rapport, comfort in conversation, and trust in communication.

    You will be surprised at how much trust expressing interest is what someone else is doing will earn you.

    Going it alone is going the hard way.

    Who can you show some support to today?

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Soul of a Leader #9: Finding Spiritual Guidance

    thought-leadersIt’s always difficult to conclude a series. Especially a series as rich as this one. Margaret Benefiel has given us a great gift with her book, The Soul of a Leader.

    She concludes by addressing one of the primary dysfunctions of leadership in America. I call it the myth of the strong, competent, and isolated leader.

    Unlike athletes, for example, leaders seem to believe that their work must be done alone in order to qualify as legitimate leadership. An athlete surrounds her or himself with coaches, doctors, advice, and support of all sorts. Athletes know they cannot learn, succeed or even survive on their own.

    Leaders, on the other hand, seem possessed by a demon that is ever threatening to expose them for the frauds they are afraid they might be. Consequently they direct all their energies to proving that they are completely competent, sufficiently strong and absolutely independent in their role.

    When Benefiel asserts that spiritual guidance is a crucial form of support for leaders in today’s business world I have to cheer.

    We need another set of eyes and ears in our life. We cannot remain focused, keep things in perspective, plan for the future, address emergencies, build enterprising teams, and sustain the energy, enthusiasm and spirit required to lead an business on an on-going basis. And that’s only a partial list of a leader’s role!

    The key in considering spiritual direction is believing that having someone else watching and listening with you will be of value. The spiritual dimension of life in (more…)

  • Question of the Week

    How often do you find yourself asking employees in retrospect, “How did that happen?” How often do you find yourself asking them during the process, “How is it going?”

    If you discover that you ask the first question more often than the second, how might you become more proactive about finding out what’s going on?

    The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.