LEAD BOLDLY!

Exploring Courageous Leadership

We have all heard the term “courageous leader” and if we are lucky, we have experienced a courageous leader in action. But what makes a courageous leader?  

As an Abeo team, we are exploring the practice of courageous leadership by reading texts, watching videos and engaging with other leaders. We began to surface how multifaceted this type of leadership is, whether it applies to formal or informal leaders.  Courageous leaders are core-value driven. They possess the ability to look inwards and use the core-values as a compass to be strategic about their leadership. Courageous leaders consider the context, their relationships, emotional intelligence and impact on others.

Courageous leadership is less about fearlessness and more about choosing action despite fear in service of a greater good. 

Over the course of the next several months, we invite you to explore courageous leadership. Reconnect with your core values and reflect. 

• What skills and attributes would you ascribe to a courageous leader? 

• What stories or examples of courageous leadership would you point to and share with others? 

• When have you been a courageous leader?

TAP INTO!

Leading With Emotional Intelligence

According to Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of the best seller, Emotional Intelligence, the best leaders have high EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and “sustain excellence through emotional intelligence.” Leaders with high EQ respond rather than react to challenges, conflicts and crises. Reacting is emotion driven, instant and unconscious, often connected to defense and self-preservation. Whereas responding is a conscious thoughtful process based on reasoning not emotions. Responding is rooted in higher levels of emotional intelligence, tapping into self-awareness - one of the four domains of emotional intelligence.

Self-awareness is identified as a priority for emotional intelligence by well-known researchers and authors such as Elena Aguilar, Brene Brown and Stephen Covey. Pausing to reflect on what we feel and why we’re feeling it offers us clarity and insight before acting. Self-awareness takes courage - requiring vulnerability and empathy. Without self-awareness, we’re unable to engage with the other three domains: self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. 

Leaders who intentionally lead with the four domains in mind are often the most favored and effective leaders, building trust and relationships while engaging in the work. They handle conflicts well and are effective communicators. These leaders are aware of their emotions and use that knowledge to navigate their leadership. They cause others to feel supported, inspired, and motivated, having a large influence on others’ ability to do good work. 

“Emotional intelligence is learned and learnable” states Daniel Goleman. Knowing this as leaders, presents an opportunity to learn and grow.

Watch this 10-minute clip from Big Think+ with Daniel Goleman on emotional intelligence. Reflect on the four domains and think about where your strengths are and where you need to learn more? How does the clip connect to courageous leadership?

FOCUS!

Leading Within Your Control and Influence

We’ve all been in personal and professional situations that are chaotic and where we feel we have no control over what is happening. Rather than throwing our hands up in defeat, we can ask the important question, “What can I control right now?”

This question helps leaders focus energy on what matters most at that point in time. It centers them to reconnect with core values and take action on what is in their control and influence.

There is a great deal of research on spheres of control and influence. Research illustrates that there are certain areas where our influence will be stronger than others - the strongest being the sphere of control, then the sphere of influence, and finally the sphere of concern. Author Michelle Porter offers a deeper look into the spheres using examples and prompts to support distinguishing between what you can and can’t control in order to focus energy on what matters most.

Check out Stephen Covey’s exploration of the spheres, he calls them circles. He offers practical applications for your daily life, inside and outside the school. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, encourages leaders to not waste their energy on what they can’t control and shift their mindset to what can be controlled and influenced. 

Being aware of the spheres and putting them into practice is a vulnerable leadership skill. It requires us to leave our egos at the door and ask ourselves some courageous reflective questions to make that shift from what we can control and leaving behind what is out of our control.

What can I control? 

• I may not be able to  control X. However, I can control Y in an intentional way. 

What if I don’t know how?

• I may not know how to do something. Look for a starting point in establishing a sphere of control and influence. 

How do I exert influence?

• If I can’t control it, can I influence it?

• If I can’t influence, can I accept it?

Remember! Focus energy on what matters most and ask yourself, “What can I control or influence right now?”