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An Elegant Leader is an Extraordinary Leader

Leading and leadership is hard, difficult work. It’s a difficult calling and responsibility. If I finish my life and haven’t left a mark or made an impact that was significant to another person’s life, I won’t be content with the skills and gifts I’ve been given. This discontent describes the deep passion within us that moves us to make a difference. My discontent is to be an extraordinary leader – an Elegant Leader with Voltage! In an earlier article, connecting as an Elegant Leader is the precursor to earning the right to advance each relationship. Understand how it’s your responsibility to connect as the leader.

Leaders shape human lives and for that reason leadership is sacred work. It’s a sacred responsibility and therefore it deserves commitment and purposeful development. 

What exactly makes for extraordinary leadership? My search for extraordinary leadership was born from this insatiable passion to be the best leader I could be. While I quickly gravitated to studying the lives of historical and biblical heroes, extraordinary emerged for me in one of the most foundational elements of my faith.

Who in your life has modeled extraordinary leadership?

What set them apart as an extraordinary leader?

During the time when Jesus was being challenged with controversial questions about taxes and the resurrection, a question posed to him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus responded with a fundamental biblical truth known as the Great Commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Then he proceeded to give those questioning him the second-greatest commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Great Commandment has enormous implications for us as leaders. When Jesus asked us to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, he was essentially saying that we should love God with all of ourselves – with everything in us. When he says love your neighbor as yourself, again the implication is to love with all of who you are. When you consider your life as an Elegant Leader, it means leading with all of who you are for the benefit of God and others.

Elegant Leadership requires all of us – our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

To not give all would be to shortchange the gifts and skills you’ve been given. The heart of a leader is the truest part of who they are. Your heart is the center of your emotions, desires, and wishes. Your heart is what connects you with others. This is the relational dimension of leadership.

Leading from the heart is about earning influence through relationships rather than authority. It’s developing the art of emotional intelligence. When we lead from the heart, we see others as living, breathing humans with stories, journeys, emotions, families, strengths and weaknesses, battles, tragedies and joys. When we see those we lead as human, we seek to relate with them through our strengths and gifts to understand one another through emotional connection.

What is one way you could encourage or connect with your team this week?
Who will you spend time with to learn more about their personal story?

Leading from the heart means understanding the power of connection: knowing one of your greatest human needs is to be known. We want to believe we matter. We long for those who lead us to see us as individuals: to see our unique potential and contribution we can bring to bear, to encourage and to call it out in us, and to affirm what we bring and who we are really matter to the greater story and success of the organization.

The heart of leadership is the start of leadership. When we connect with the heart, we earn influence to lead with soul, mind, and strength. Every relational connection you make gives you greater opportunity to lead. Consider your relational leadership influence by answering these questions:

How do you connect with those you lead?

How can you demonstrate you’re for them and you value them?

What can you do to show how their work affects the entire team?

What will it take to know their stories and what inspires and motivates them?

Elegant Leaders establish, develop and strengthen relationships daily and habitually. There will be relationships to repair, relationships to nurture and relationships to strengthen, and the people with the most influence and impact realize this dynamic and then act upon it.

If you want to add value to each other’s connection, to live with the law of reciprocity, then becoming an Elegant Leader with Voltage may be for you. In some cases, clients struggle to position themselves for the best work opportunities. Some feel insecure about their current role or their current company, while others are already in a career transition. You have an opportunity to be more productive by improving the quality and quantity of relationships around you as an Elegant Leader with Voltage. Click here to receive our FREE guide to Become an Elegant Leader with Voltage. With the guide, we include our no-cost monthly program for you to test drive the proven strategies we share with business professionals and executives alike, no strings attached. To learn more about our organization, click here.