Regardless of your line of work, one thing is certain — as a leader, being energetic and quick to act and respond is essential. However, it’s equally essential to maintain a mindset that balances out intensity with gentleness. As Gandhi said — “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” And that need for a gentleness-infused mindset is precisely what we’ll talk about here today — both gentleness to yourself and to the others that report to you.
Being More Gentle Towards Others
Most successful people have a go-getter type of personality — and while that’s an important quality to have, it also brings a certain level of intensity to every process. Bringing enthusiasm and excitement to your work is excellent, but sometimes you need to stop and think about slowing down — being quieter, and a bit more gentle.
If that seems like a big change for you, it’s because it is — for an energetic person, it can take a lot to downshift like this. But if you remember Gandhi’s profound quote, you’ll realize that great things can also be achieved with a softer attitude and a gentler approach.
How you communicate and talk to people is essential here. When you incorporate pauses at the right times, people will listen differently and more intently.
As a business leader, taking some time at the end of your day to review how you treated the people on your team and your clients is important — are there some aspects of that interaction that could have been gentler?
Are you too aggressive at times? Is there someone you need to be more gentle with? If you take a step back and look deep inside you, your heart will probably tell you who those people are; perhaps someone on your team has been struggling with something you haven’t acknowledged? Feel free to slow down and take a moment to ask them how they are.
If you feel they need to talk about something, approaching them in a slightly softer tone will make a huge difference in terms of them opening up.
Being More Gentle To Yourself
Once you infuse your mindset with a gentler approach, you will probably realize that you can be gentler to yourself as well. Give yourself a break sometimes — cut some slack. For many people, starting their day with some quiet meditation can do a lot of good; it’s a great way to take off some of that edge.
In turn, this will allow you to carve out some space to reflect on what’s happening in your personal life. You’ll also become gentler towards others in the process because you’ll be more sensitive to the needs of others.
The gentleness you find in your heart will genuinely help you shake the world and make it a better place — which is what happens when we’re all just a bit more gentle in our daily lives. Through this process, you can become the leader that others want to work for.
To hear more about Gentlness+Leadership, listen to Today’s Top Leaders Episode 37.
As a leadership coach, I can support you with some of these big decisions for your career or your team. Let’s set up a consultation call and talk about what it can look like to help you get the answers you’re looking for.
I look forward to hearing from you and wish you much success in your excellent career.