Leadership Notes -- Thoughts on Leading People and Making a Difference in Organizations

Word count this issue: 284

Estimated reading time:  1:45 minutes

Greetings from a lovely sunny Vancouver! One of the joys of my work is the delicate balance between my work as a facilitator, and my work as a minister in “church land.” The two are actually much more closely aligned than many people at first might imagine. Both are really simply groups of people trying to make the world a better place. Different languages are spoken in the various circles in which I operate, but the circles are really venn diagrams, and not discrete and separate.

And importantly the work in “church land” fundamentally informs my work elsewhere. This week is a prime example. I was sitting with a person with stage 4 breast cancer, who says that the big lesson for her was that prior to her diagnosis, life was a “big long to-do list.” Now, she said, life is about relationships. One of the things I’ve learned in “church land” is the importance of such wisdom. We cut through the “crap” when we’re sick, we focus on what is important, not necessarily the items that seem urgent in our working lives.

As leaders, the tasks are important, and they may in fact be urgent at times. What is vital for us though are relationships, without which we may be successful for a short time, but in the long run, we wind up feeling alone and afraid. What is a key to being the best leader you can be? Building strong relationships with other people. A simple, profound lesson from someone who sees life through wisdom coloured lenses.