Written by: Eva Medilek, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Being a leader in today’s world demands more than leadership has demanded in the past. What worked before is suddenly not enough.
We have a pandemic, we have strong political differences and we have a heightened sensitivity to systemic racism all around the world.
To pretend that this doesn’t exist is highly irresponsible if you lead or have any level of influence in your family, your teams, your clients, and your business.
Now is not the time to put on blinders and become tone-deaf to the fears, frustrations, and concerns being felt by humans all over the world.
Being a leader in these times demands a next level of presence.
What does that mean exactly?
Look around at the leaders that you follow. What are they present to? What are they messaging? Are they aware of the temperatures in their communities?
Or, has it been business as usual without any acknowledgment of what you may or may not be experiencing, fearing, or needing?
You see, we look to leaders for guidance, direction, and a role modeling of behaviors. But, we also look to feel seen, heard, respected, and acknowledged by our influencers.
If you’ve ever had a situation occur in your life that was significant, wouldn’t you have appreciated any acknowledgment of that experience by those who were influential in your life?
You don’t necessarily expect someone to swoop down and fix all of your problems or have all of the answers. But to acknowledge your challenges and your triumphs is a key ingredient to feeling seen and heard, especially in troubling times.
Look at your own leadership. Are you creating a level of presence to what your communities may be experiencing that allows them to feel seen, heard, acknowledged, and respected by you?
Being present to the fear, the stress, and the challenges that the world is facing, creates a level of trust and safety in you as a leader.
Being tone-deaf is a level of privilege that is no longer working in leadership. The emotions are too strong to pretend that they don’t exist.
Here are 3 very simple ingredients that are needed in today’s climate that will elevate your leadership to the next level.
1. ASK
Be curious enough to ask what your family, your teams, your audience is feeling and experiencing with everything that’s going on. Be present to the fact that some people are doing fine, and others are struggling. Have the presence of mind to ask how people are really doing and where they need extra support. You may not have the answers, but being present with the fact that some may be struggling in one way or another will go a long way.
2. LISTEN
Now that you’ve asked, it wouldn’t be appropriate to gloss over the results and move on. How can you create a feeling of safety in what was shared with you? We are all hearing a lot of things that we don’t necessarily agree with. But, when someone in your communities feels seen and heard by you, you have a greater level of influence with that person.
3. ACKNOWLEDGE
Again, back to presence. Acknowledge the pain, struggle, challenge, and even the triumph of your people. Now is not the time to make people wrong for what they are feeling or experiencing and tell them what they should and shouldn’t be doing. Now is not the time to “should” on your people. Acknowledgment is an important step in increasing your influence. “I know you are feeling x, y, z… I know it’s not easy… I hear you and I see you and together, we will find a way to….”
All may be good with you, and maybe the changes in the world have benefited you in some way. Next level leadership requires you to be present and have a generosity level that allows you to see beyond your personal bubble.
Be a next-level leader. Be present to the experiences of your communities. Create fans, not just followers.
For more details on how to be influential at home, at work and in your communities, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and visit my Website.
Eva Medilek, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Eva Medilek is a Certified High-Performance Coach and a Relationship Success Coach. She has coached both men and women in the areas of personal development, leadership and mastering habits for success. She specializes in helping powerful, successful women have happier, healthier, more intimate connections in their relationships without giving up their power. Eva knows firsthand how a driven personality type can leave you feeling lonely, disappointed, frustrated and resentful. You can achieve higher levels of success without sacrificing your health, well-being and relationships. She uses her personal experiences along with her leadership, transformational and high-performance training to teach you the pillars of high performance as well as showing you how to communicate in a way that fosters intimacy, influence and connection in your personal and professional life. High performance is succeeding consistently over the long term while maintaining a healthy life full of positive emotions and relationships.
