The Paradox of Leadership and The Power of Not Knowing
- Feb 2, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 3, 2021
Written by: Saskia Kremer, 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.
How are you able to manage it all, is a question I often get.
Solo parenting with all the challenges it brings along, building a business in a foreign country, lockdowns, and personal challenges….
Well, to be honest, I don’t 😉 , and yet I do 😊
There are a lot of choices I need to make; prioritizing, planning and forward-thinking are key.
A few good friends and family members who are there to support me are crucial.
And what becomes more and more evident to me is I can handle a lot when I know I am safe and can rest in that loving space where I can be without judgment.
If I want to hold the space for my children, friends and clients, so they can transition through tough times, I fundamentally need to be connected to that space myself.
That space in which I accept that I don’t know and that that is ok. A space where I can be a witness to myself and all I am discovering, a space of loving acceptance where I can show up without a solution.
And talking to a dear friend reminded me of Joan of Arc (a young French woman who around 1430 lead stunning military victories and later burned to death as a heretic) when she was questioned during her trial:
“Do you know whether or not you are in God's grace?”
Joan: “If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.”
The vulnerability and yet the power of her statement struck me again.
The vulnerability she accepted during her trial of not knowing if she did the right things and the powerful confidence she placed in God to protect and guide her and keep her in the space where she wanted to be.
Could she measure it by herself? No, and yet, it gave her a tremendous power to fulfill her mission, to stand up and lead!
This is the paradox of leadership:
You cannot lead if you don’t accept to be lead yourself.
You cannot create and hold that safe space for your team to grow and develop if your safe space does not support you yourself.
You cannot Step Up with power if you cannot embrace your vulnerability.
Are you wondering how you can improve your leadership and be even more unapologetically?
Schedule a quick call, so we can talk and support you!
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Saskia Kremer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As an Executive Coach and Trainer, Saskia helps successful, time-challenged high-level management, directors, and business owners increase their performance and their teams' productivity without the stress and overwhelm. Once a Missionary, working alongside Mother Teresa herself, made her live all around the globe, helping people discover their meaning in life in sometimes heartbreaking circumstances. After leading multiple projects and International communities, she left the missions following her own experience of burnout. Starting her own business allowed her to combine her philosophical and theological research with her rich multi-cultural experience. She places the human person at its center, allowing it to find its unique place and thrive. In 2016, as a single mum of 2 young children, she moved from Holland to Ireland. She specialized in working with business owners, directors, and managers, showing them how to create a bigger vision for their business and life, freeing up their own time to excel in what they are best at and increase their profit and satisfaction without the stress and the overwhelm.
