feminine feminist

On leadership: Warmth versus Action.

There have been some interesting changes in our office. Let's call it a mini-restructuring, with the temporary addition in the form of M. M is fairly laid back, with a definite skill set in relation to data, and attention to detail, reporting writing etc. M also brings warmth. When she moved into our office I was a strictly one- cup-of-coffee-per-day-with-peppermint-tea-for-the-rest-of-the-day-gal. I have become a tea-aholic instead. I have strict work/life boundaries and I don't like to let my guard down. I try and be warm and welcoming to people, but I have so much damn work to do that it just ain't easy. What I've learnt from M is that a little bit of warmth goes a long way. Her story has been a difficult one over the past year and some of that difficulty might have been spared if there had been warmth at the core of it.

We chatted yesterday because she is moving to a job which will suit her well, and she said 'always take time to be warm'... which was an important lesson for me. A smile, a quick chat, a cup of coffee... this is important to people. In reality, it means sitting at the computer until later at night working through emails and papers, but I am continually reminded that it's what being a leader is about. One of my colleagues said to me this week 'you have the look of the war-weary'... and that's a whole other blog post, but warmth and welcome are my lessons for this week.

posted by Feminine Feminist @ 7:24 PM