Episode 12 - The Pressure and Peace of Leadership: Put on Your Oxygen Mask First
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
Release Date: 11/06/2020
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
info_outline Episode 35 – Allow MeLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
When it comes to building a healthy culture, there is no greater or more impactful example of culture than that of leadership. Research continues to show that many of the world’s most profitable companies attribute a great deal of their success to their organizational culture. At the forefront of these organizations are leaders who actively, regularly, and genuinely display the type of behavior desired for all of its members. Some leaders equate their high visibility to constantly being put under the microscope. They describe the...
info_outline Episode 34 - I'm Sorry I AskedLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
Employee surveys can be a great source of information. They can provide an intimate perspective of certain facets of the organization which may go unseen or unexperienced by leadership. However, sometimes organizations are not prepared for the insight they receive. They may feel that certain initiatives or decisions should be met with affirmation and positive accolades, only to find out that part of the employee population feels differently. What do we do now? Some organizations view the insight as a humbling experience and use it...
info_outline Episode 33 - Crawl Before You WalkLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
John Maxwell said “A leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.” All too often, organizations are held hostage by their own people. What does that mean? We’re so glad you asked. Being held hostage by your people is a dynamic that explains leaders who do more to withhold knowledge and experience than to share it with others. When these leaders leave for new opportunities, the organization is left scrambling to recreate that knowledge or...
info_outline Episode 32 - The Bold and The AtypicalLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
We often hear that effective leadership requires bold decisions and behavior. However, servant leadership principles tend to illustrate a very different type of leader from what most people are accustomed to. While we don’t disagree with the premise that leaders need to be bold, we want to look at the term through a different lens in this episode. One definition illustrates the word “bold” as showing the ability to take risks; to be confident and courageous. Here, again, we wouldn’t disagree with that interpretation. However, it’s...
info_outline Episode 31 - Getting Around to Dealing with ConflictLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
Why are we still so afraid of conflict? Why do we assume the mere presence of conflict is always negative? When it comes to addressing conflict, there is an immediate assumption that the conversation/interaction will go poorly and possibly lead to something much worse. Years ago, we used to rate a successful marriage by how little a couple fought. It wasn’t uncommon to hear a story about a husband and wife who had been married for forty years and how they “never had a fight.” ...
info_outline Episode 30 - The Air You Can WearLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
Nothing describes a late summer day in Central Pennsylvania better than the three H’s…hazy, hot and humid. But what do the three H’s have to do with leadership? While you can’t necessarily see the humidity outside simply by looking through your office window, you most certainly feel its presence the second you venture outdoors. When we think of those of who have influenced us over time, most likely it’s not their physical appearance or blatant actions we recall. As Maya Angelou once opined “I've learned that people will forget what you said,...
info_outline Episode 29 - Talkin' 'Bout Your GenerationLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
Today’s workforce is one of the most diverse in history. Workers fall into one of five (yes five) different generations. While diversity and inclusion continue to garner a great deal of attention, organizations and leaders are struggling to address tension and conflict when it comes to many different people working together and interacting with one another. Perception is not always reality. We like to say that our perceptions may be our reality, but are they truly reality? One of the greatest...
info_outline Episode 28 - Finding the Big Impact in the Little ThingsLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
When is the last time you paused and gave thanks for the things in your life that you know to be true and good? There is growing research on the multitude of benefits associated with gratitude. From physical benefits such as the ability to lower stress and create better sleep habits, to psychological benefits like increased satisfaction and resilience; implementing a regular practice of gratitude can have a significant impact on our lives. Taking time each day to be grateful can actually play a role in how our brains are wired. A concept...
info_outline Episode 27 - High Expectations or High AdherenceLeadership Insight with Rising Sun
“We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible; and even when we don’t quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done.” -Jack Welch Oftentimes, leaders set high expectations for their organizations and their employees in order to maintain relevance and maximize potential. However, many leaders wind up expressing disappointment and frustration when those expectations aren’t met. Why do so many well-intentioned leaders have employees who consistently fall short of or fail to...
info_outlineAs leaders, we must accept the fact that pressure applied by internal and external forces is a given. If we set out with the mindset of trying to make it go away, we will be sorely disappointed. But does this pressure have to consume our lives? Rather, can we find ways to live with the pressure and maybe even turn it into an opportunity for growth?
Bad days, mistakes, and poor decisions can and will happen; period. But one way to reduce the pressure associated with our leadership hiccups is to establish relationships based on trust. When trusting relationships are forged and cultivated, those with whom we relate most often are more inclined to extend a little grace on those rough days or provide us with a little slack on the heels of a poor decision. Just as we set out to see the best in them; because they trust us, they are more inclined to see the best in us. While this is not a free pass to continue making mistakes or stringing together poor decisions one after another, it applies some peace to leadership on the days when we aren’t at our best.
Another way we as leaders can apply peace to the daily pressures is to practice self-awareness. Understanding where we excel and where we struggle sets us up to be more deliberate and less reactionary when it comes to our self-improvement. Pressure can mount in the face of the unknown or the unaware. Yet, understanding limitation and areas of weakness, and making a conscious effort to improve in those areas, is key in our ability to achieve peace. Of course, none of this is possible without a willingness to be vulnerable. When we constantly send the message that we can succeed on our own; not only do we keep the pressure on ourselves, we send a message to our followers that they, too, can’t be vulnerable. Furthermore, we actually maintain or even increase the pressure when we miss opportunities to learn and grow.
Once we’ve established trusting relationships and acknowledged we can’t go it alone, it’s time to ask for help. Effective leaders apply peace through the use of support systems. They create networks of people who possess different skill sets, employ different perspectives, and are capable of delivering critical feedback. Some leaders who feel this is counterintuitive to establishing peace may actually do the opposite and stock their networks with like-minded people. While this lack of pushback may seem like it drives peace; such peace is temporary. Real peace is achieved when we expand our thinking, our skill set, and our overall learning; putting us in a stronger position to handle different forms of pressure.
While leadership pressure is real, peace is attainable if we are willing to look for it.