The Soul of Leadership

 The quality and impact of your leadership is determined by the SOUL of your leadership.

What's your first thought when you read that?  If it's too spiritual a term, substitute "character".  Despite the abundant availability of quality training, resources and coaching, the leadership world is littered with leaders who failed to create true impact NOT because of a lack of ability, but a poverty of soul & character.

The actual 'soul-depth' of your leadership is gauged when you face experiences such as:

• the 'desert' - when you are feeling dry and lost on the inside
• a challenge to the vision you are pursuing
• a personal crisis
• the role & status you were pursuing has been taken away
• the dreams you had now seem to be unattainable

Losing your soul is sort of like losing a credit card.  You think it's in your wallet so you don't give it much thought until one day you reach for it and can't find it. (Ruth Haley Barton, "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership", pg 13).  Then you start scrambling to remember where you might have lost it.  You know if you don't find it, major damage could be done.

Do you have that depth of urgency over the soul of your leadership?

Many leaders reading this may not like the language of 'soul' or 'character' because it seems so soft.  It's not measurable.  It lacks the activism of what leadership requires. It's not strategic. I'll wager that if you would just step back for a time and truly examine the leaders you admired and who left a deep, lasting impact on your life and/or organization, you would recall character/soul qualities.

They were grounded.
They were profoundly human and real rather than role-players.
They had a spirit about them that exuded humility, strength and wisdom.
They were defined by something greater than themselves or their organization.
They loved.

I am a leader who is a Christian and am the first to acknowledge that spiritual-association, Christian or other, does not guarantee good, soul-sourced leadership.  Since all 'believers' are at their root human, the human temptations to status-seeking, power and greed are always crouching at the door of the heart and mind and seeking to take over.  My question for all leaders reading this is - what power enables you to defeat those destructive forces and rise to the level of true soul/character-based leadership?

One of the most profound books I have ever read on this topic is "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership" by Ruth Haley Barton.  Christian leaders will find this a valuable tool to exercise the first and primary task of leadership - self knowledge.

The SOUL of your organization is influenced by the SOUL of your personal leadership.  Don't neglect this most vital aspect of your being.

If you are feeling like you have lost your soul, you are in a good place!  You are acknowledging this is an issue.  Now act.  Read this book I am recommending.  If you are not ready or wanting to read from a Christian perspective, authors like Stephen Covey or Deepak Chopra focus on the deeper, soul issues of contemporary leadership.  I also recommend that you consider the services of a personal coach to help you explore your life in a deeper way.  (You can read more about my coaching background and services on my website - www.visiontracks.ca)

What lies ahead depends on what lies within. What's in there?

Harvey Matchullis

Visiontracks Facilitation & Coaching Services

www.visiontracks.ca

info@visiontracks.ca