hmmm...so what's leadership, anyway?

I thought I would share a few insights into how I came to yearn to learn more about leadership. I never actually thought of myself as a leader but throughout my life was often told I was natural. They also told me I was bossy! My high school besties call me Kernel

(and yes, they still do today) ... it was only about a year ago that one of them learned it wasn't because I was THE Colonel! I leave that one right there for you to ponder! So, here's the "Coles Notes" version:

So, where did it all begin? I really think that my leadership approach began at a very young age. I am the youngest of four siblings (that says so much), moved from the big city to a small Canadian town and immersed myself into everything that could keep my busy mind entertained. I was that kid who was completely integrated into school activities; athletics, student council, drama, special events, you name it, and you'd find me at the center, and this trend has pretty much continued throughout my entire life. I feel that my personal volunteer experiences along with being an athlete prepared me to dive into leadership roles throughout my professional career. I have worked in higher education (tertiary) pretty much my entire life; from teaching, counselling, advising, leading small departments, to working with presidents and their admin on instituting new protocols and setting up academic programs all over the world. Always reaching for more and desiring to be fully challenged.

Why study leadership? Mostly because as a leader, I had experienced the good, the bad and the ugly and desired to be the best version of myself in all things; to live what I felt in my heart at home, work, and in my volunteer roles. I guess I was searching for something more that I hadn't experienced yet; I had never had a formal business coach or mentor, and strived to believe that there was hope in leadership. Hope that there could be a leadership theory that integrated the need for love. Completing a doctorate in leadership provided an opportunity to test my theory; that I could love and uphold the dignity and respect of others while being honest, authentic, and true to my 'self'. I have firmly always believed and attempted to live and impart in those I have led the following: “that it is of utmost importance to ensure you retain the dignity and respect of those you work with every day”.

What happened next? I devised a definition based on my Masters research on Love & Spirituality as a Pedagogy. This became my conceptual framework. I believed that a Leadership paradigm based on love and identity could prove to be sustainable for the individual leader, and more importantly, those they have the potential to impact. I reached into universities and questioned research participant's leadership approaches through qual and quant means that included one-hour in-depth interviews. Delving into their beliefs, values, attitudes, the things that motivate, guide, and protect them. I hit on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

What did the results tell me? The results confirmed my belief that leadership is based on the individual, identity. Identity is underscored by values and beliefs that are core to living as a leader in this world. That we cannot separate who we are at work, with who we are at the office. We need to be reconciled within our own selves in order to be balanced, have peace, and lead with dignity. To be truly authentic requires being principled. To be principled requires a journey of self; identity, your values and beliefs, an understanding that there is something greater in this world guiding us to take care of each other, and once we have this firm understanding of self, then, can we be completely in service of others in our leadership role. And boy does this take courage and balance.

So that's it... pretty simple. I'd like to close this out by sharing an incredibly eye-opening quote by Brene Browne that I only discovered about 4 months ago. I believe it provides a great definition of leadership:

"Anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential”.

So awesome!