Volume 2, Issue 5, May 2023
Welcome to Volume 2, Issue 5 of The Root.
In order to support our growth, we require a strong network of roots. They anchor us and serve as a conduit for nutrients to help us develop and deliver on our goals.
This month, we focus on Purposeful Leadership. What does that mean? Some may call it Servant Leadership (I don’t love that term), or Holistic Leadership – but I like to think of it as leading others in a purpose driven manner to accomplish amazing goals.
Each month, I aim to highlight books, articles and/or podcasts related to the chosen topic. I hope you will find helpful information to identify and manage burnout before it overtakes your daily life.
Thank you for following along our journey to Aspire to Grow.
Check us out at www.aspiretogrow.co <the .com domain was taken, but I like to think of it as “.co” for co-create>.
Off the Shelf – My Book PickThe Leader You Want to Be: Five Essential Principles to Bringing Out Your Best Self by Amy Jen Su
Are you a purposeful leader? In Amy Jen Su’s book, ..The Leader You Want to Be: Five Essential Principles to Bringing Out Your Best Self , she describes how she approaches the topic of purposeful leadership with her CEO clients and other leaders who want to find meaning and balance in their lives. Her books are amazing to me – she provides clear cut frameworks to identify gaps and increase self-awareness toward attaining true leadership goals. Who doesn’t want to be their best self?
Amy Jen Su’s idea is that we can show up as our whole selves to become more purposeful while empowering and engaging our teams. She calls this the 5 P’s.
- Purpose
- Process
- People
- Presence
- Peace
How often have your reset your vision to determine what your purpose really is? Not just your company, but you – your whole self?
Amy Jen Su provides a great summary and workflow to understand what motivates you, but also how to determine when you are ready to find something new (are you stuck?), help empower leaders within your team, and determine what people value and need from you (rather than you just guessing what they need).
She helps us realize that our vision of leadership must also live in harmony with our whole selves (personal and professional).
The 5 P’s to a Whole Person Approach to Leadership
- Purpose:
- What does it look like for you to reset your compass, while balancing what drives your passion and contribution to your company/family.
- Process:
- How are you organizing your day to protect your time and energy?Are you focusing on the right tasks for your vision?Are you doing the things for those you love that they really want?
- People:
- When you find yourself with no time or energy, what tasks could be done by others to help them learn and grow?How can you set healthier boundaries (home and work)?
- Presence:
- Pause between stimulus and response to situationsStay present and learn to self-regulate
- Peace:
- Trust that you can do things that come your wayLearn to lead with acceptance, trust and gratitude rather than stress and reactivity (check your ego)
Do you Fall into the Pitfalls of Doing?
Amy Jen Su reminds us as we move into leadership positions, sometimes, we can spend too much time in the Pitfalls of Doing. These pitfalls feel comfortable to us, but may not be the best use of our time as leaders. If you are working on something that isn’t going as well as you’d like, do any of these statements resonate with you?
- I’ll Just Do More
- I’ll Just Do it Now
- I’ll Just Do it Myself
- I’ll Just Do it Later
If so, go back to reset your purpose and reflect on your 5 P’s. Which one(s), might need your attention?
Stream On Purposeful Leader: The Winning Season for Underrepresented Leaders with Jacqueline V. Twillie
The Winning Season for Underrepresented Leaders is a podcast for women leaders who work in male dominated industries and is hosted by Jacqueline V. Twillie, bestselling author and Founder of ZeroGap.co.
This episode is from July 2018, and still remains so relevant today. In the episode Purposeful Leader, Twillie speaks about a purposeful leader as someone who is guided by a moral compass to lead people toward a vision.
It’s a quick listen, but impactful.
The Pillars of Purposeful Leadership.
- Worthiness to be followed
- Does the leader make decisions that impact the collective good? Or do they make them for their own benefit?
- Tenacity
- Does the leader exhibit determination for themselves and team despite adversity and roadblocks? Do they inspire the team during good times and bad?
- CandorDoes the leader engage team members with the “Why” behind decisions and goals, as well as share relevant information and facts?
- Execution
- Does the leader have a greater plan and discipline to navigate through barriers to deliver on projects and promises?
- Do they lead with confidence to execute strategies together with confidence (even through difficult challenges)
Lastly, Twillie leaves us with the quote below.
How does this quote resonate with you? Have you had leader who embodies this? Do you?
Mindful Moments Staying Focused at Work: Benefits and 9 Tips by Brier Cook
Each month, I try to find tips or suggestions to help with the every day stress of life. Whether it’s back to back meetings all week, returning to office a few days a week in heavy traffic or endless family activities during the week – everything seems to want our last bit of energy.
This month, I’ve chosen the Fellow blog on Staying focused at Work: Benefits and 9 tips. The benefits are probably clear – we get more done, we get into a deeper flow of work (and thought) and it enables us to be efficient to move toward a better work life balance. Kind of a no brainer really – but it’s the distractions we can’t always control that make this tough.
Here are 9 tips to consider trying:
- Choose a quiet work environment
- Work at home when you can for those bigger projects where concentration is key (on the other side, if working in the office gives you that needed quiet – choose an office day!)
- Stay Organized
- Too much clutter causes our minds to lack focus. Tidy up the desk a bit, or at least make orderly stacks of like items.
- Avoid Procrastination
- Make a list of the top 3 things you need to get done that day (every morning) — even if one is the thing you dread the most. Tackle it first, and your mind is set free!
- Limit Distractions
- Mute or hide your phone (plan breaks to check social media)Limit yourself to checking email during certain breaks. Turn off chat if possible, or put into do not disturb mode.
- Plan Out Your Week
- At the beginning of your work, identify the critical tasks that need to be done. Add important meetings, etc.Clearly identify key tasks and when these are needed – schedule them during your week (block time if you need to make sure it’s secured on your calendar)Make that list of top 3 items each day (#3 above) you need to get done
- At the end of the week – take a look at the following:
- What are your Wins for the week?
- What Emotions did you feel this week and perhaps why?
- What future tasks did you need to put on your watch out list
- What did you learn?
- Take Multiple Short Breaks
- Get the mail, take the dogs out — grab some water.
- Build in small breaks after a run of productive thought or after a meeting to get recharged.
- Train Your Mind
- This reminds me of the En Vogue song (Free Your Mind) — Train your mind, and the rest will follow (Okay, that’s not exactly right, but the other message is also very positive).
- Use deep breathing, meditation or yoga to build your focus skills. Try a 5 minute guided meditation prior to an important meeting – it’s amazing how refreshed you may feel.
- Time Block
- Enough said. Build in time blocks so that you can have uninterrupted work (following the tips above, too). If you don’t block time, someone will.
- Consider blocking at the beginning or end of the day (as long as you can avoid standing meetings)
- Focus on One Task at a Time
- This one is a tough one for me. I usually am juggling a few things in parallel – but I do stay focused for the time I have blocked out for one project/task until it is completed.
- It may be helpful to close out of your calendar and email to not be distracted.
Give a few of these a try, and see if it helps you stay focused and allow more clear delivery of tasks and plans🌿
Continue to do great things.
You’ve made it to the end of May – Summertime has started (or Wintertime for our Southern hemisphere friends). Stay hydrated, write down your weekly wins (no matter how small), get fresh air, and continue to do great things.
Sincerely, Kathleen
Please reach out for a free virtual coffee! I’d love to chat about coaching, leadership, professional and personal growth after 50 and birds (just checking if you actually read this – but yes, I’m happy to talk birds, too)