Good Leaders: What message is in the strong winds for you?

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At 4:30 am, when the house is quiet, a 45-mile per hour wind is impossible to ignore. Meteoric forces are intriguingly loud and eery – hauntingly happy? From life experience I know hard rain can be healing waters and tree branches down in the yard makes room for more sunshine on the grass. What message is in these strong springtime winds for you?

Yesterday, I received a thank you note from a client who got caught in a 45-mile wind gust from me. Leaders hire coaches for many reasons – but never “to stay the same.” Some are stirring inside, listening for new direction – others need to be hit with meteoric wind forces.

“How are you celebrating the busy season?” I asked him. “We’re running so hard right now, there isn’t time,” he said. “Last week we turned more orders than we’ve ever handled before…I suppose I should be happy…but I’m worried about the resiliency of my staff.”

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“Sounds like they need some celebrating to keep them strong, happy and focused,” I observed. “Not going to happen anytime soon,” he said with a robotic response. “Excuse me?” I blew…”Why not? Are you too busy to walk the floor with a bag of M&Ms or to write “thank you” on Post-It notes? Have you considered one-minute “stand up” meetings to celebrate record volumes of good work?”

In the quiet of his office, the wind was loud and eery. “Thank you – you’re right,” he shrugged hauntingly. “Sometimes this season gets to me…I’ve had a really hard year – both personally and professionally,” he reflected. “But it always makes me feel better and stronger when I get out of my office and down on the floor with our people. Wow, what was I thinking?”

Sometimes we all need the hard, meteoric winds to send us a message.

In my reflection this morning, I’m wondering: What healing waters are the rains bringing to me? What will the sunshine peeking through broken branches feed around me? It’s 5:30 am now and I’m still listening for the message in these 45-miles-per hour winds.

Good leaders make a habit to pause and listen to the strong winds in their lives. And they push aside the haunting fear to hear the message of hope and positivity in the height of the storm.

We know you are enthralled in your “busy season” – who isn’t? Our readers will appreciate knowing: what message is the springtime wind blowing in for you?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]