The Courage to Be Intimate
Updated: Jan 27, 2021
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.
As an American citizen, I’ve been looking closely at the leadership in this country. These last 4 years have seen a different type of leadership than we’ve grown accustomed to in the past, and this last year has seen this country suffer as a result.
Leadership has changed, shifted, and is being looked at more closely than ever.
We are all leaders. Some of us are leaders in our homes. Some of us are leading teams. Some of us have followers on social media platforms that look to us as role models and influencers.
To say that you are not a leader is selling yourself short. You are a leader, and people are watching you.
But what type of leader are you? Are you a leader that connects or a leader that divides? Is your leadership based on courage or fear?
Leaders rise in times of adversity and turmoil. Leaders stay focused on the Vision. But there is another component of leadership that lays the foundation for showing up in times of adversity and turmoil.
That component is the ability to have the intimate conversations that go deep and peels back the layers of protective armor that keeps us comfortable in the level of leadership that we have been practicing to date. Leadership that makes us look all-knowing.
Real leadership takes intimacy. Real intimacy takes courage.
The courage to look in the mirror at your own blind spots. The courage to help others see their blind spots. The courage to feel the shame, guilt, and embarrassment of not getting it right and the courage to keep moving forward until you do.
Until you can have the conversations that allow you to go deep, your leadership cannot be fully effective. Sustainable Transformation and change will not happen if you are not willing to feel the feelings of discomfort.
Being worried about what others think of you, being worried about perfection, having that looking good conversation will not inspire people to believe in you, buy from you, invest with you or follow you.
Leadership is changing. Courage is the new fashion in the leadership wardrobe, and intimacy is a closet where you get to hang your cloak of courage.
Now is not the time to hide. Be present to the discomfort, the fear, and the pain that people are experiencing. Acknowledge it and seek to understand it so that you can show up in a way that has people feeling seen, heard, and respected.
Lean into the feelings of compassion, understanding, and a deeper level way of being so that you can be the role model of intimate, courageous leadership for sustainable connection and transformation.
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 personal development, leadership, and mastering habits for success. She specializes in helping powerful and 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.
