A friend of mine gave me this nifty gift last night. It's an "Emotional Scale" and it's a column of words printed next to a picture of a beautiful waterfall and the quote "Everything you want is downstream". The column of words are descriptions of human emotions and are placed in an order we would consider from bad to good. Beginning at the low end of the scale is powerlessness, followed in order by depression, despair, fear, grief, unworthiness, insecurity, guilt and so on. About half way up the scale you hit boredom and then contentment. Ah, now things are looking better! The good half of the scale continues on to hopefulness, optimism, belief, happiness, enthusiasm, eagerness, passion, empowerment, freedom, joy, knowledge, appreciation and (finally) love.
The purpose of the Emotional Scale is to show how, for example, if we're feeling stuck on worry that it might be a leap to big to move immediately to passion. But, we could probably move up the scale a few notches from worry to impatience and then work on changing that to hopefulness. Anything taken in small steps is workable.
I started thinking of this scale and how it has meaning in the context of leadership. Have you ever tried to be an effective leader while in the midst of feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or irritated? Doesn't work real well, does it? We just can't get the clarity of purpose we need when we're not coming from a place of centered purpose and conscious emotion. For me the tipping point of effective leadership happens between boredom and contentment. But the real engine of powerful leadership doesn't kick in to gear until you can hit at least optimism and belief. Watch out for those leaders who come from a place of passion and empowerment.... they are the ones who accomplish the "impossible". And those who can truly lead from love are those who's stories are passed down through the generations. Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln. It's something to aspire to and something to be conscious of: what place are you leading from?
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About Me
- Jill Boullion
- Houston, TX, United States
- I've led a lot and followed plenty of times, too. All these experiences have given me some interesting perspective into what makes someone a leader worth following. And what constitutes ethical leadership? We usually can smell it when's it not, so let's find the examples in the world of people leading in an ethical and authentic way! My passion is community leadership but I think the lessons of leadership transcend place and specifics. I'd love to hear what you think about leadership!
Hi Jill, Great idea about applying the scale to leadership. Perhaps we could or have led at the passionate, love level a time or two. Wouldn't it be wonderful to lead from such a center of yourself consistently. I wish I could develop that kind of character to shine in the world each day.
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