Are We Using Our Leadership Gifts?

 

by John Keyser

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”
~John F. Kennedy

Last week, I heard a sermon at church that resonated within me. In the Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.”

The message was not that we can be the salt and the light; rather, we are the salt and the light!

This is transformative! As leaders, we are meant to be the salt and the light to our team members! Let’s ask ourselves:

• Do people see me as a light? If not, what is blocking my light?
• How effectively am I using my gifts?
• Am I using my gifts to help others?
• Do others feel inspired by me?
• Are others moved to join with me in a shared collective vision?
• Am I a consistent source of positive energy for my team members?
• Do people know I genuinely care about them?
• Am I doing the little things, which mean so much, with kindness?
• What specialness do I bring to our team and our organizational culture?

These are the ways we can use our gifts and strengths as leaders to be “salt and light” and positively influence our business environment.

What is the salt within us, the flavor, really the tone, we bring to our organization and to the world? Openness to the feedback of our team members allows us to more accurately assess the degree of our saltiness and light.

As senior managers, we can end up spending way too much time in endless meetings, camped out in our own offices, or on our floors. And we can also assume we are effectively leading others without realizing that our light has grown dim.

Leadership is a gift. These gifts are in our ability to relate to others, to care, to be encouraging. These gifts and our effectiveness as leaders thrive when we embrace a spirit of humility.

How can we be more conscious of our leadership? Humility, which leads us to both self-awareness and patience, conscious listening, could well be the most important leadership skill.

Self-awareness includes our discernment, our ability to look honestly at ourselves, allowing ourselves the vulnerability to be truthful about the decisions we make, the actions we take and what we say.  Are we doing what is best, what is good, what is kind?

If so, we can trust that we are close to the leader we are meant to be. For our path to success is striving for continuous improvement.

“To be a great leader, we must stand with our people, not above them.”