Following up to last week’s post, I want to say a little bit more on the topic of ‘being in joy’ as an important factor in the leadership that is required for nourishing a culture of leadership.
Some of you have written that you are struggling with this topic and having difficulty with answering the questions that I suggested to explore ‘what does being in joy mean to you?’
I have discovered that the topic of joy is not sufficiently discussed, explored, taught, or understood in many of our cultures. Accessing a state of being in joy is not part of most leadership development curriculum. Allowing oneself to make the choice to be in a state of joy may even be counter-cultural. And yet, the choice to be in a state of joy affects ones life deeply, affects ones capacity for leadership, and has a direct relationship to being able to nourish a culture of leadership in which leadership flourishes to move an organization into its greatest potential.
In our leadership roles when we make a choice to be in a state of joy, we break through the myth that ‘leadership must be hard’. Breaking through a myth means that we are letting go of an old set of beliefs, attitudes and patterns. This myth affects our leadership of our lives, our families, and our organizations.
Joy as a foundational state of being supports the capacity to regain a sense of balance in situations of chaos, duress, challenge, conflict, and the demands of hard work.
I invite you to revisit the reflection questions posed to you last week with a perspective of ‘leadership is joyful’. Leave behind the stumbling block of ‘leadership must be hard’ and see how this new perspective can change your explorations.
- What do I understand about being in joy?
- When in my life did I choose responsibility over joy?
- How would being in joy affect my leadership?
- If a state of being in joy is a choice, do I want to make that choice now?
To explore the concept of leadership is joyful as part of an exploration of leadership in the new paradigm.
Photo by Luca Upper on Unsplash
