I have always been more spiritual than religious. I grew up Catholic, but admittedly have been a "non-practicing" Catholic for quite a few years. I always relied on the mantra that if I treat others the way I would like to be treated and remained spiritual, I was doing enough to fill my faith quota. My wife started taking my daughter to a church called The Garden and today I joined them for the first time. I realized a number of things about faith and its impact on leadership in general, but specifically what it means to my leadership style. As was mentioned today, faith is not a one-size fits all endeavor and not everyone can be poured into the same mold. Similar to leadership styles, there is not just one fit for everyone. You must adapt as a leader and adjust your leadership style to best impact those around you. Having faith in your life helps soften the egos of those, myself included, that have large egos and enjoy being the center of attention. In addition, the presence of faith allows a person to find the inner strength to deal with adversity in life and provides the courage to be less afraid to make mistakes. Both of these benefits of faith are directly tied to being a strong leader. Great leaders make great mistakes because they are not afraid to fail and have the faith in themselves, those around them, and a greater spirit to thrive from mistakes.
The quote we discussed today is from Dan Millman and reads: "Faith is our direct link to universal wisdom, reminding us that we know more than we have heard or read or studied- that we have only to look, listen and trust the love and wisdom of the Universal Spirit working through us all." To me, this should speak to all of us as leaders as well. It is not good enough to only talk about leadership and faith...we must live our faith and live as leaders every day in order generate the best results.
