Tag: Silence

The Sound of Leadership

What does leadership sound like? Maybe it is the quiet voice of someone expressing their love. We might find it sounds like the loud and boisterous voices of children or grandchildren working, laughing, or playing together. It is possible we hear leadership in the form of authoritative instructions directed by a superior. We may also find the sound of leadership in the silence of the moment.

The point is simple: Leadership may sound differently to each individual and within a particular moment.

The effort we put forth to actively listen for the sounds of leadership brings rewards that benefit the development of our leadership influence.

Habit of Reflection

Out of the depths of silence, we find the power of developing the habit of reflection. Reflection allows leaders to think deeply and carefully about their leadership.

Reflecting on areas of our leadership increases our ability to learn from the past, gain perspective for the present, and adjust for the future.

Every decision deserves careful reflection as to the implications and consequences of making that decision.

A time of reflection helps give perspective. Reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of our leadership and interrelationship with others promotes growth.

Just to accompany our 21 days of silence, end the day with 10 minutes of reflection.

Habit of Silence

One challenging habit for leaders is spending 21 minutes every day in silence for 21 days. It’s challenging for at least two reasons.

1) Silence makes us uncomfortable. Try spending 30 seconds in silence before responding someone. Observe how uncomfortable they become waiting.

2) Our lives are filled with noise. We often cannot sleep or drive anywhere without some sort of background noise.

Our minds never rest. The idea of sitting in silence without praying, thinking about work, or a hundred other thoughts is not normal.

However, developing a habit of silence can improve our attitude toward others, situations, and our own spiritual growth.

Listen, Think, Speak…

Solomon wrote that a word spoken in the right circumstances was “like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

Few principles carry more weight in leadership than this one.

The challenge is how to develop this ability. 

1) Actively listen. A key attribute for learning what to say at the right time is to listen. There are times silence speaks more to the need than words.

2) Think before speaking. The tendency is to speak as soon as the thought crosses our mind. Relationships are often destroyed when we speak too quickly.

These two suggestions provide a foundation to speak the right words in the right circumstance.