Questions are a natural part of a leader’s life. Good leaders ask great questions. The value of questions is they reveal the right answers.
Good leaders also look to the future. However, the future is not where things get done; Now is. Making today the gateway to tomorrow.
Leaders must make choices today in the best interest of tomorrow. It is not possible to do everything every day, but it is possible to do the important things.
Taking Care of the Important Things
How do you know if you’re taking care of the important things? Start by asking yourself if you’re taking care of today.
With the many competing priorities leaders struggle with every day, getting one’s arms around first concerns can seem daunting and out of reach. Where do you want to make sure you’re taking care of business today? Look to your values for guidance.
Values are our North Star in times of darkness. They are an embodiment of what we hold most dear. For me, that’s integrity, relationships, spirituality, creativity, and vitality. What is your set of values?
That’s a difficult question for most people to answer. Living into our values requires tough reflective work that most of us have not bothered to do. This is where leaders can get into trouble. At the end of the day, if we have not lived into our values and are unable to live with the decisions we’ve made, we’re off course and out of sync with our true selves. Something our restless minds and tense bodies won’t let us easily forget, especially when we lay ourselves down to sleep.
Values are our Baseline
Values are our baseline. When our core values become clearer and are an operationalized part of taking care of business, we have a compass to guide us toward making optimal choices today in the best interest of tomorrow.
Values are crucial to knowing one’s self and the lives of others. People don’t truly know themselves or other people without first knowing what one another values. Accordingly, self-reflection is a critical part of establishing and operationalizing core values.
Values-based leadership is a lifelong journey no matter how much a person achieves. Leadership anchored in what a leader holds most dear is responsible, disciplined, nimble, and continuously improving.
The role of a leader is to make tough choices. Values aid a leader’s discernment. As a leader matures, their focus shifts away from mastering everything to pursuing what matters most with forethought, and the choices they make become a reflection of real-time vision rooted in what’s happening right here, right now.
Call to Action
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