What is guiding you and the organization you are a part of?
We all have things that guide us. Right now, I am eyeballs deep in policy revisions and handbook changes. These are the guidelines for the school district I work in. The process of reviewing new policies and changing every handbook, is a major undertaking. I love reading, but not like this. It was long overdue for this organization, as it hasn’t been done for a while. Policies and handbooks guide us to make the best decisions for the organization and its people. These are general guidelines that must be adapted to our way of doing things. Unfortunately, these are only guidelines and are interpreted differently by others. As I review these policies and handbooks, I couldn’t help but think of other things that guide me. What are my guidelines for living a good life?
Who is the guiding light in your life? My religion is important to me and has been an area of growth for me in recent years. I believe in God and my savior Jesus Christ. This isn’t always a popular belief in our times, but it is still my guiding light. We should all have someone as a guiding light in our lives and it doesn’t have to be a religious belief. Actual people around us can offer support and give us guidance. We must find the individuals who lift us up and encourage us. Family or friends are the usual people that surround us with love and support. In the professional world, we must seek out mentors or colleagues that we are able to feel safe and vulnerable with. It is important to have these people in our lives. The right person can keep us on track and have our best interests at heart. Who are you looking up to, that can be your guiding light?
How are you guiding yourself? We all have morals and personal beliefs that keep us on track or stop our progress. We have beliefs and values that keep us centered in a good way. We make decisions based on our core beliefs. Sometimes, we get in our own heads and speak ill of our abilities. I am often guilty of this. Self-doubt creeps into our minds and the conversations with ourselves becomes negative. The best thing we can do for ourselves, is to stay true to those core beliefs and base every decision on those positive values. Sure, decisions will be made that are unpopular. All we can do is make the best decisions through self-reflection and weighing the pros and cons but staying true to our core.
Are you guiding others and equipping them for success? When we lead people, we have to offer guidance. This guidance can be work related or not. The best part of my job is working with individuals who want to grow or show signs of enthusiasm around a new topic or initiative. I love when people have the zest for doing and learning. Its even better when they invite me in to help or learn alongside of them. To have this environment, people must be willing to try new things and be vulnerable to the failures, when they come. I had a mentor who was open to allowing me to try, fail, and try again and he encouraged me every step of the way. We still speak and learn together today. Leaders need to embrace this environment and allow the people of the organization to try new things and share ideas. Leaders can and should be a guiding light to the people of every organization.
Who is the guiding light in your life, that offers love and support?
What values and beliefs do you consider guidelines?
How are you guiding those around you?
Are your guidelines outdated or need to be adapted to your current situation?
We have guidelines for everything, and we can adapt and change those guidelines as situations in life change. The important thing is having them, and they should be tied to your core beliefs. Thank you once again for taking the time to review this blog and please leave your thoughts below. Have a wonderful week, as you follow your guidelines and guiding lights!
Steven C. Bucks- Leading Conversations
