After a year of unprecedented challenges and stress, pausing to consider how to construct the next phase of life may feel more burdensome than liberating. As you explore how you intend life to feel and be, remember to bring a deeper quality of attention to each moment you experience. Resolve to be in alignment with your deepest values, and each choice point will emerge with more ease and clarity.
In the midst of the turmoil and chaos of these times, setting or resetting boundaries is one of the most important compassionate leadership moves to create a thriving organization. Good boundaries connect us to each other, focus us, and support our wellbeing. Boundaries also protect us. When you map out clear boundaries, especially in collaboration with your team, you set up everyone for success.
The relationship between compassion and perceived time pressure has been known for a long time. From the well-known study, “From Jerusalem to Jericho” nearly fifty years ago, to our research with participants in our training cohorts, the feeling that there is not enough time impairs one’s ability to act compassionately. Ironically, the solution doesn’t come from working faster, but in slowing down.
We live in a world of constant distraction, making it a challenge to stay focused on long-term goals. Yet, the world’s growing complexity makes a guiding long-term perspective more important than ever. Where attention goes, energy follows. How do we keep focused in a world screaming for our immediate attention? Here are four guiding principles for leaders embracing the long road to change.
