The beauty of leadership

Posted by Kelly Lewis Share Your Voice

The work we do gives me the honor of being surrounded by amazing leaders - this week those leaders were our Leaders as Learners class on Tuesday and my Georgetown students Wednesday and Thursday. And this week I can say I have witnessed leadership in action. "What is it that I am actually witnessing?"...the question I found myself in while waiting for the traffic on 95 to settle down:)

Here goes...I definitely know what I am did not witness this week. I did not witness a title, a role, a position, an image, or persona. I witnessed knowing, sharing, intimacy, power, love, commitment, balance, pleasure, openness, authenticity, unfolding, purpose, courage, truth (do any of these words sound familiar to you?). I witnessed YOU - your essence in action. And my guess is the 6th graders you are leading and learning from are witnessing the same thing - giving them the permission for their own essence (their core) to emerge.

So as you head into the weekend, I invite you into some questions that I am sitting with - When is my leadership arising from my core, the essence of who I am? When is it coming from a title or persona, an external image I have created to deal with what life throws at me? When do my actions originate from within me and when are they coming from a more superficial, limited place?

For me, leadership, like yoga, is a practice and I am grateful that each and every one of you chose to share your practice with us and with Richmond's next generation of leaders!