Tag Archives: Compassion

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Invitation 2013: Will you lead from who YOU are?

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Have you checked out our NEW POST on the Lead Change Group Blog?

Imagine: 

  • What it would be like to grow up in a family that is always behind on their bills.
  • To live in a home that could be featured on the television program HOARDERS.
  • To have your home burn to the ground and lose everything when you were in grade-school. 
  • Then live in a home without an indoor bathroom through high school. 
  • Being diagnosed with bi-polar, manic depressive disorder before you were 20. 
  • Getting hit one night by your boyfriend and leaving with your car and your clothes.  
  • Becoming a single mom and going through a bankruptcy. 

For Angie, all of this was a reality.  She was living a life of chaos with very few calm, safe, hopeful moments.  She describes herself as insecure, someone with a chip on her shoulder, and a bully.  She emphasizes never being taught to budget, being embarrassed to bring friends home, and trying to escape her reality by forming relationships that many times became the cause of more pain.   

When I first met Angie I did not know any of these stories.  I found her because she is a hairstylist with an online presence and great reviews.  (When you are new to a city, you look for both!)  In our first meeting I complimented her on her online presence and she quickly spoke of her “Marketing Director, Miss Connie. ” 

What follows is a quick look into the lives of two extraordinary women that have been transformed because they have chosen to do what they can, with what they have, right where they are. Read more here.

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A lesson in character from a former bully

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As we began working on the Character-Based Leader book, I dug deep to see if I could identify what had originally ignited the passion I have for character-based leadership.  As I reviewed years of memories, I continually found examples that that evidenced my passion for others, almost as if it had always been there.  So I dug deeper, determined to find the root.  When I found it, I realized that my vision for character-based leadership stems from a very self-centered decision I made in elementary school…

When I was in first grade there was a girl in my class with messy hair and old clothes who was noticeably “different” than everyone else.  

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7 Most Powerful Lessons From Life & Leadership

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I recently sat down and created a list of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned so far, in life and in leadership.

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Seven of those lessons stand out as lessons that are critically important to share.  (And each one links to a resource or a post with more detail!)

  1. Your calling can become your idol if you let it.
  2. Without a vision people and organizations really do perish.
  3. Leaving your comfort zone will always make you feel weak and small.
  4. Every human has feet of clay, complete trust and confidence should only be placed in God.
  5. The critical balance of compassion and accountability.
  6. How to forgive, even when the act seems unforgivable.
  7. Brokenness creates humility.  Thankfulness sustains humility.

How about you… [Tweet “What are the most powerful life and leadership lessons you’ve learned so far?”]