Leading With Grace

Grace is a short word that carries a deep complexity of truth. It can mean very different things to different people.

Some people understand grace as athletic, the ability to stay balanced as you complete challenging tasks. Dancers are graceful, skaters gliding across the ice. Grace is an elegance of movement, the ability to transform everyday actions in to expressions of beauty.

We often link style and grace.

For other people, grace is more philosophical, even theological. Grace is unmerited favor. We are saved by grace, through the generosity of another. We remember the sweet sound of amazing grace.

Giving, and receiving, grace can be very challenging for us.

For most of us, what unites the different truths of grace is that they take hard work. No one skates gracefully the first time they try. Very few of us respond gracefully the first time we feel wronged.

It takes a lot of practice to become graceful.

We learn grace by trying. We find ourselves in situations that demand grace. When we could easily fall down, easily become resentful, we are given the opportunity to learn grace.

The leaders who inspire me lead with grace.

I have worked with people who lead with elegance, learning to control their movements to express deep truths. Their leadership is a form of art. They find the balance required to continue moving, and create beauty as they do.

I have worked with people who have shown me kindness I did not earn. Their generosity helped bring out the best in me, even when I did not know it was there.

The graceful leaders I know spend the deep time and effort practicing to become more graceful.

When do you practice becoming graceful?

How will you learn to lead with grace today?

[Image by rolands.lakis]