Month: May 2019

Inner calm and leadership

I moved into a brand new office space about a year ago. I have been struck at people’s reaction whenever I have meetings in this office. So often, I hear the very same phrases: “oh it feels so nice in your office; it is calm and peaceful here; I love coming to your office.” I wondered what it was in this office that had such an impact on people. Our work environment is highly stressful, with a pervasive state of uncertainty when it comes to people’s future in the organization. I have developed an ability to maintain a sense of calm in the midst of the surrounding chaos. People seem able to feel this calmness just coming to my office, as if it was activating their own sense of calm.

We all need to be able to reconnect with our sense of calmness to function in this world, and I have come to realize that in today’s chaotic world, people are looking at those of us who can connect to this inner calm to cope themselves, and lead the way for others to weather the storm. People are increasingly caught up in either emotions throwing them off when disturbing news come their way, or unrelenting thoughts about what might happen next. Both emotions and thoughts activate each other in a vicious circle that get them confused and helpless in the face of external challenges, even if this does not (yet) affect them directly.

It should be helpful to remember that you do not need to fully understand what is happening around you, nor to anticipate what will happen to you in future. You only need to locate the stillness within, at the center of your heart, to find composure in most situations. You only need to find peace with what is happening, let it come without resistance, and let it pass. Leaders have an innate clarity about that process and the place within, which can help others recognize their own.

Celebrate your talents

In leadership coaching, I am often enquiring from people whether they can identify their zone of genius. I usually come across a clear barrier whereby individuals are reluctant to consider that they may be harboring a “zone of genius” within them. This tends to sound “too much” for most. They laugh at the very words. Indeed, it seems difficult to most of us to recognize that we are great in many ways. However, the question is: where are you making your best contribution in life? The challenge is that when we are unaware and not making use of our gifts, we are feeling unfulfilled and we disconnect from our very purpose in life.

We all are born with special talents, which allow us to make a contribution to our family, friends, surroundings, even to our country and world. It is nonetheless common that these talents are not immediately obvious to us. They are buried and we are not necessarily amenable to exploring them. We may even feel that they are not worthy of note, or worse, we wish we did not have them! We tend to be more drawn to the talents of others, which may actually be a mirror image of our own (still buried). Bottom line, we usually overlook our gifts, be it to make people feel welcome, to delight the whole neighborhood by our gardening, or pioneer new ideas at work and elsewhere. Often we hear it in conversations as people point out to these gifts, but we are dismissive.

You need to discover and acknowledge your special gift, as it is your best way to express yourself in this life and to find meaning in your existence. If you feel challenged naming your gift, ask around you what people think your most overlooked talent is. This may change your life…and, in turn, help others discover their zones of genius. Tell a friend how his or her ability to listen is a true gift, or a colleague how his or her ideas always illuminate your horizon, or your child how he or she has a way of making you feel special. When we can all focus on our special talents, and realize our value and contribution, this will make a better world.