The Job That No One Wants

Ballgame criticismWe all like to give and receive positive feedback. But negative feedback? Now that is another issue. Most of us neither like giving nor receiving it. And for us to improve and become the best we can be, we need to give and receive negative feedback.

Why is something so necessary to our well-being sometimes so difficult?

For one thing, if you are insecure in who you are and have low self-esteem, you are less likely to give negative feedback to others because of your need to be liked. Parents fail to give negative feedback to their children because of the fear that their children will not like them. Co-workers and friends do the same.

Becoming a Resilient Leader – Part 2

Photo credit: James Jordan / Foter / CC BY-NDLast week in part one, I looked at three areas a leader should focus on in becoming a resilient leader: what is your passion, what are you good at, and self-acceptance.

This week I want to highlight four more areas. As noted last week, these suggestions are by no means exhaustive.

Know your values. Resilient leaders know their values. Values are derived from your beliefs and convictions. You must decide what is most important in your life. Is it family, maintaining your integrity, helping others, making a difference or honoring God with all that you are?

How to Become a Resilient Leader – Part 1

Resilient treeLeadership can be a very lonely job. Often people rise to the role of leadership and find themselves isolated and struggling with loneliness – and those around them don’t even realize it. This sense of isolation makes leaders vulnerable and sometimes less resilient.

Many good and talented leaders have lost their way and found themselves out of leadership because they were not resilient, so when the pressure came (which comes to all leaders), they were unable to survive. They ended up compromising their core values or were not strong enough to influence those they were leading to follow them.

In the next two weeks, I want to suggest some steps you can take in the pursuit of becoming a resilient leader. The following suggestions are by no means exhaustive.

Your Emotions Need Tending Too

Emotional self-careLast week we talked about “physical self-care” and the importance of caring for the temple of God – your body. This week, I would like to focus your attention on your “emotional self-care.”

Emotions are a fundamental part of being human. Anger. Jealousy. Joy. Sadness. Grief. Contentment. Love. All of these help you respond and interact with life and living. They impact how you think and behave.

To understand and appreciate the importance of emotional self-care, you need to think about what life is like when you neglect your emotional health.

Emotional self-neglect will often result in you being held captive by your emotions.

Don’t Neglect the Temple of God – Your Body!

Sleeping with catWe all need reminders from time to time. Today’s blog is one of those reminders in an area in which we are prone to become careless and often forget to do the right thing.

Always tired, heartburn, falls asleep easily, overweight, constant aches and pains, lack of concentration, have trouble reading, short tempered, easily angered, takes everything personally, etc. – you get the picture? These all could be as a result of self-neglect.

Leaders are notorious for self-neglect. Self-neglect has a major impact on our effectiveness as leaders. More importantly, you want to be a role model to those you lead as one who cares for yourself so you can give your best.

Here are some suggestions to help you take better care of yourself.