Leading With Love in a System Built on Fear?
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———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-It's a challenging place to be:
Fluent in the old system with all its tendencies toward threatening control and using people up but no longer believing in this way of leading or working.
You know how to play that game, but you realized awhile back that you don't want to play it anymore. Not only did that way of leading leave you feeling gross at the end of the day, it wasn't working. Especially with new workers who just weren't having it.
Expectations are higher than ever. The pressure is on to do more with less and manage in a storm of volatility. Yet you quietly identify as a Loving Leader and keep looking for ways to practice authentically. You may not have the authority to change the system, but you know you get to choose how you show up in the challenging moments.
Loving Leader, here are some reflection questions to support you by anchoring into your integrity, fostering inner sustainability, and finding strength in possibilities…
Anchor to Your Integrity by Asking Yourself…
What’s one small act of loving leadership I can offer today, no matter what’s happening around me?
How can I show care or connection to someone on my team, even if the culture doesn’t value it?
What practice helps me come back to myself when I feel pressured to abandon who I am?
Foster Inner Sustainability by Asking Yourself…
Where am I carrying emotional labor or pain that I need to release or grieve?
What boundary might protect my energy and preserve my ability to love?
How can I nourish my hope and vision, even if no one else around me shares it right now?
Finding Strength in Possibilities by Asking Yourself…
When have I already succeeded in leading with love in this system, and what can I learn from that?
What story am I telling myself about being "caught between worlds" and is there another story I could choose?
If I trust that love is making an impact, even when I can't see it yet, how might I show up differently?
You are on the right track. That is the path that is not only good and just but it has been shown to lead to more sustained success too. Stay with it!