Are you leading those around you?

Frances Hesselbein, the long time leader of the Girl Scouts died recently at 107 years old. In one of her last interviews, she is quoted as saying...

"My personal definition of leadership has helped guide me through many challenging times throughout my career, and I believe it can help many of today’s leaders navigate the challenges they face. It is this: Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do. The North Star for leaders today is establishing an ethical set of values and striving to be the living embodiment of those values. If today’s leaders focus on how to be—if they develop a clear set of principles and values and apply them in all their interactions—then they can weather any storm."

Reading that makes me want to stand a little taller and be a little better.

It makes me want to clarify within myself what my set of values truly is.

And it makes me want to embody all of those values and live them daily.

This past Christmas Day, we were relaxing as a family. I was struggling a bit with a headache that didn't want to go away and was actually lying face down on the floor in my office with my eyes closed.

I heard a noise and thought that somebody was sizzling some pork roll on a skillet to make themselves a bagel sandwich.

But I was wrong.

It wasn't pork roll sizzling - it was a waterfall in my basement.

A pipe had burst in an upstairs bathroom and water was pouring into the basement.

Normally when something unfortunate happens, I am always trying to frame it in a positive light. I want everyone to remember that we are all healthy and that is what's important.

Everything else - as unfortunate and frustrating as it may be - is not the end of the world.

But I was struggling. I was saying the right words - but my heart wasn't in it. But you know what happened?

My children all had good attitudes about it. They stopped their Christmas antics and started mopping and sopping up the basement.

They didn't whine. They didn't complain. They just helped.

There have been many times that my children behaved in ways that were not what I wanted. But not this time!

This time they all faced the difficulty with actual cheer and good attitudes!

While my behavior doesn't always embody my ideals, apparently I'm "being" (and not necessarily always doing) something right.

My principles and values say that even if something bad happens, God is still in control and it will all be ok in the end.

I'm going to continue to try to apply them to all my interactions - especially when I'm only speaking the words and my heart isn't in it. 

"My personal definition of leadership has helped guide me through many challenging times throughout my career, and I believe it can help many of today’s leaders navigate the challenges they face. It is this: Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do.  The North Star for leaders today is establishing an ethical set of values and striving to be the living embodiment of those values. If today’s leaders focus on how to be—if they develop a clear set of principles and values and apply them in all their interactions—then they can weather any storm."

But this makes me want to be better!

PJ