Good Leaders: How do you refocus in your relationships?

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We all know that with a family, a career, a house, and other pressures of life, it’s easy to lose touch with the goodness all around us. Jill Duevel explains, “A couple years ago, I was shocked when I realized that I was just going through the motions and trying to get everything done, rather than intentionally spreading goodness.”

As Director of Business Development at Health Source Solutions, Jill works every day to incorporate goodness and wellbeing into the cultures of corporations in the Twin Cities, but she wasn’t evaluating her own relationships. Her wake-up call was our Good Leadership Breakfasts: “I used to think of myself as someone who spread joy and positivity to everyone around me, and Good Leadership has helped me get back in touch with that identity.”

Rediscovering Her Purpose

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Her first step in recharging was to check in with her husband using the Seven Fs Wheel, a tool that measures satisfaction in Faith, Family, Finance, Fitness, Future, and Fun. “We both completed the wheel separately, and then compared our scores.” Seeing each other’s scores opened the door for honest conversation, and improvement in areas that were weak. “He didn’t realize that I would rate myself low in Fun. For me, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to squeeze in playtime.” Now, Jill and her husband are planning monthly fun excursions for their family. “My relationship with my husband is even stronger…we’re going to repeat that exercise at least once a year!”

Jill is also strengthening her relationship with her church. At our April breakfast, she heard Pastor Kelly Chatman from the Redeemer Lutheran Church speak about goodness, using the metaphor “give one of your chickens to your neighbor.” The message of giving back inspired Jill to start volunteering as a lector at her church – something she did in high school, but gave up as life filled with more responsibilities. Along with volunteering, she now takes ten minutes twice a day to get up from her desk and reflect on her spirituality. “The Faith F was shining bright on that April morning.”

Creating Relationships

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At Jill’s first Good Leadership Breakfast, she hit it off with another woman at her table, Stephanie Franciscus, Director of Sales Operations at Medica. That friendship grew into regular coffees and phone calls, and eventually into a mentor relationship, discussing everything from the speeches at Good Leadership Breakfasts to major career decisions. “Stephanie is helping me to embrace current challenges, rather than worrying about the next huge landmark in my life. Having a mentor who knows me both personally and professionally gives me a fresh perspective.”

Jill makes it a goal to bring someone new to every breakfast, to “pay it forward,” and give someone else the opportunity to discover a similar mentor relationship. “We need all kinds of leaders at the breakfast, and all kinds of leaders need the chance to develop.”

Good leaders constantly evaluate where they need to refocus. And they find mentors to help lead them through that journey.

Please share with me: what has inspired you to refocus in your relationships?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]