Am I a person of influence? What is my impact? How do I show up?
The answer to these musings will not always be the same. How I show up may depend on the day, on external circumstances and on what is going on in me internally. Like a game of doubles in tennis, leadership can be an internal game.
Interestingly I do not have control over external circumstances, even though I often think I do, provoking high levels of anxiety in the face of uncertainty.
I do have control over how I think internally in the face of uncertainty. And this is where regulation comes into play. I can choose how I respond in challenging circumstances. I can be mindful about reducing my propensity to react, or at the very least taking a deep breath and widening the gap between reacting and responding. I can check out my level of attunement and the quality of the choices I am making.
So what does any of this have to do with impact and influence?
From the perspective of leadership, how I behave determines how I demonstrate my leadership. I can track and monitor how I am able to trust my team, how I relate to others who are outside my organisation, how I engage with stakeholders and how I invest in leadership currency and win or lose trust. Key to this is how I determine success.
Leadership development has never been more needed than now
Leading in this current environment of high stakes, low trust, great uncertainty, extra accelerated pace and pressure, brings layers of challenge. Yet we can choose to be the leader who meets the moment and that is not smally fry.
This is where compassion comes in. That we are compassionate with others as well as ourselves is critical and links to ownership, engagement, responsibility and accountability.
Tartuffe – speaking truth to power
Bold, hilarious and heartfelt, Tartuffe (Remixed), written and directed by Darren Raymond, reimagines Molière’s timeless comedy through the lens of a contemporary Nigerian–Jamaican family.
Blending razor-sharp comedy, spoken word, music and beautifully crafted rhyming verse, this vibrant new adaptation is a joyful, humourous celebration of faith, family, forgiveness and the courage to speak truth to power.
Pastor Blake, a charismatic man of God who has won Oga’s unwavering trust, takes up residence in the family home, old wounds reopen, loyalties are tested, and faith itself becomes a battleground.
This deliciously biting comedy highlights concerns and issues relating to impact and influence. Watching it, highlights the importance of trust, confidence, accountability and responsibility. Unquestioning trust it turns out is not compassionate, neither is it responsible. Trust must hold up to scrutiny, is evidenced based and calls for competence, efficiency, effectiveness and compassion.
