As a catalyst, leaders incite forward and positive movement. For a leader to benefit in developing the characteristics of a catalyst, there must be a genuine interest in others.
Genuine interest is much easier said than done. As well, there are individuals we are more genuinely interested in than others.
Leaders are familiar with people who can be emotionally draining. The time and energy demands can be challenging.
Having a genuine interest in others requires a few key components.
Genuine interest requires the ability to listen. Far too often the tendency is to think about a response, rather than listening to the words, body language and tone of voice.
Genuine interest requires eye contact. Especially when there is disinterest, it is hard not to look at the clock / watch, make eye contact with someone else, or even worse, struggle to stay awake.
Genuine interest requires appropriate questions. Asking appropriate questions, i.e. who, why, how, when, and what, helps identify interest in the lives of others.
A few key components makes a spiritual catalyst more effective in their leadership and it increases a movement in the right direction.
Just a thought:
One dictionary defines catalyst as “a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.”
Realizing that this has to do with chemistry, the following may not work, but perhaps in a future blog post you could briefly explore the idea of “changing without being changed.” Or, to go another route, exploring “whether change is necessary/not necessary to being a catalyst leader.”