The year is quietly winding down. When you can compartmentalize the holiday celebrations a bit and set aside some time for contemplation a lot can open up and reveal itself. I've had the gift of some days spent working and thinking, often with my hands around a cup of hot tea. The ending of one year and the beginning of another is always a good time for some introspection.
2010 was a year of great change for me and it all unfolded quite easily and effortlessly (in retrospect). I suppose it was appropriate that I also marked 50 years on the planet. That is a milestone that I haven't completely wrapped my mind around yet. When I look back on my 40's I marvel at the road I've traveled and where I've ended up. It feels quite miraculous!
So, I've been thinking today of setting the intention to be guided by three big words in 2011. These words describe values that are of prime importance to me and I believe if I evaluate what is presented to me with these words in mind it will be a fabulous year.
My Three Big Words for 2011:
1) Connection
2) Impact
3) Growth
These words will serve to guide me both personally and professionally. I can measure each possibility by asking myself if it provides one, two or all of those things. Certainly those opportunities that provide all three will be at the top of my "yes" list! I can also ask myself if it is providing those values just for me or if other people will benefit.... even better!
What are your Three Big Words for the new year?
29 December 2010
05 December 2010
How to "Follow Your Bliss" in a Thousand Really Hard Steps
A big part of effective leadership is feeling like you belong where you lead. Sometimes things in our lives change and we no longer feel like we quite fit in to a career, a community or a lifestyle anymore. Usually this happens when we've grown in some way and our outer circumstances are no longer reflecting how we see ourselves on the inside. This has recently been the case for me. After several decades on the career path I chose while in college I've made a significant change. I've moved from the advertising and marketing world to the community development and non-profit arena. For many years I truly loved the "ad biz" and thrived on fast deadlines, late night press checks, the creative competition and collaboration and all that the business entailed. But lately I knew my passion for it was fading.
About seven years ago I was accepted into a community leadership program. I hoped that I would learn a lot and looked forward to growing my leadership skills and meeting new people. I expected that it would expand my network and lead to new business opportunities for my firm. I had no idea it would set my feet on a completely new path that would eventually lead me where I am today.
All the sudden I realized I had interest in things I had never really considered like economic and community development, public policy issues, stakeholder development and such. I found ways to dip my toes into this new pool: joining a economic development committee at my local chamber, joining the chamber's board of directors and then others, agreeing to chair a major non-profit fundraiser. The idea of a new career wasn't even a possibility in those early days. I was just following my passion but I had no idea where it was all taking me.
I sought out mentors eventually and one convinced me to take a week long course in community development. Some very dear colleagues on my chamber board chipped in and provided a scholarship for me to go. At the end of that week I felt like I had found a new home.
The story of how this interest developed into a passion and then developed into a new job is one for another blog post and one I will tell because changing careers, I've learned, isn't for the faint of heart. But for now what I've learned is that you have to listen to the voice, or feeling, inside you that is leading you to something new. There isn't a single final destination but rather signposts along the way to let you know to keep walking that direction even when you can't articulate to anyone yet why you are doing what you are doing. Most of the signs aren't even big, more like postage stamps or post-it notes! But, if you truly love it you'll notice the signs, even the smallest. Yeah, this is what it means when someone says "follow your bliss"! Even when it feels confusing, awkward, unnatural, impossible, or crazy it still feels right.
About seven years ago I was accepted into a community leadership program. I hoped that I would learn a lot and looked forward to growing my leadership skills and meeting new people. I expected that it would expand my network and lead to new business opportunities for my firm. I had no idea it would set my feet on a completely new path that would eventually lead me where I am today.
All the sudden I realized I had interest in things I had never really considered like economic and community development, public policy issues, stakeholder development and such. I found ways to dip my toes into this new pool: joining a economic development committee at my local chamber, joining the chamber's board of directors and then others, agreeing to chair a major non-profit fundraiser. The idea of a new career wasn't even a possibility in those early days. I was just following my passion but I had no idea where it was all taking me.
I sought out mentors eventually and one convinced me to take a week long course in community development. Some very dear colleagues on my chamber board chipped in and provided a scholarship for me to go. At the end of that week I felt like I had found a new home.
The story of how this interest developed into a passion and then developed into a new job is one for another blog post and one I will tell because changing careers, I've learned, isn't for the faint of heart. But for now what I've learned is that you have to listen to the voice, or feeling, inside you that is leading you to something new. There isn't a single final destination but rather signposts along the way to let you know to keep walking that direction even when you can't articulate to anyone yet why you are doing what you are doing. Most of the signs aren't even big, more like postage stamps or post-it notes! But, if you truly love it you'll notice the signs, even the smallest. Yeah, this is what it means when someone says "follow your bliss"! Even when it feels confusing, awkward, unnatural, impossible, or crazy it still feels right.
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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!