This week we’re going to continue walking through our concentric circle model for Flourishing Leadership.
In this issue, we’ll be discussing the significant role relationships play in Flourishing leadership. We must be mindful of how we are relating to the people, passions, and pursuits of our lives.
The Science of Connection
Social support is a biological necessity.
Everything about us - our brains, our minds, and our bodies - is geared toward collaboration in a social system.
Our brains are intricately wired for social interaction. Much of the neural circuitry of our brain is devoted to being in tune with others.
From the moment we're born, our survival and development depend on our ability to form bonds with others.
Bottom line, relationships and community are essential to well-being.
We get our first lessons in self-care from the way we are cared for.
Imitation is our most fundamental social skill. We’re built to pick up on other’s movement, emotions, and intentions.
People will go to almost any length to feel seen and connected, because safe connections are foundational to meaningful and satisfying lives.
Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the most important aspect of mental health.
By investing in our relationships, we're investing in our health and well-being.
A proper relationship is one that brings to all connected with it, or affected by it, some form of benefit.
Guard Your Associations Carefully
This helps us realize just how influential our social circles are on who we become. In essence, we are wired to conform.
Meaning, we will become who we associate with.
Our relationships shape our beliefs, behaviors, and ultimately, our lives.
What percentage of the people in your life inspire you?
Influence shapes values. Where do your values come from?
Audit your life! Who is having the most influence on you?
We are always and forever influenced by those with whom we hang with the most. We can leverage this by consciously cultivating positive relationships to unlock our full potential.
Studies have shown that having strong social connections reinforces resilience, enhances intrinsic motivation, and boosts perseverance in the face of challenging work.
High performance requires high standards. High standards require high levels of support and care. When we’re taking on something hard and demanding we need support.
High expectations are meaningless without adequate support and care.
People perform their best when they are challenged, NOT threatened! The best way to do this is ensuring people know they have genuine support and that you care.
Growing positive associations simply requires; a willingness to connect, to share, and to acknowledge the importance of others in our lives.
Flourishing leadership necessitates taking time to invest in relationships; laugh with others, cry with others, surprise others, comfort others, and serve others.
Serving is a way we place value on one another. A flourishing leader is a servant.
Flourishing leadership is about growing with your people. Serving and inspiring each other.
Mattering Comes First
If we want to flourish we have to believe that we matter. That our life matters.
Mattering is the experience of feeling significant to the people around us.
People that believe that they matter tend to act like they matter.
That feeling of mattering can only come from our relationships.
Feeling loved, valued, and a sense of belonging are foundational to high-performance and flourishing leadership.
We won’t pursue significant contributions if we don’t first believe we’re worthy of contributing, that our contributions matter.
The pathway to flourishing in both life and leadership relies on others.
No individual is an entity unto themself.
Thus, flourishing is reliant largely on our relationships, how we treat one another, how we treat our pursuits, and how we treat the things in our lives.
The way we relate to things, be it objects, experiences, or people, fundamentally shapes our reality.
Our perspective acts as a filter through which we interpret the world. This filter can dramatically alter our experiences, emotions, and actions.
It is not only our actions but also our thoughts which determine the nature of our relationships.
There should be a certain level of joyful engagement with the people and pursuits of our life.
This shift in mindset can lead to significant improvements in our overall well-being and quality of life.
By understanding the power of our relationship with both people and things, we can consciously design environments that foster the cultivation of a positive perspective.
Environments that empower people to see the evidence of their significance.
With that, we’ll wrap up this series next week by discussing the environment's role in Flourishing Leadership.
Stay The Course,
