How to Lead with Significance: Compassion

by Shawn Welch | Mar 12, 2020 | Leadership

“Heart is the difference maker in great leaders.” -Daniel Harkavy Shawn L Welch Click to tweet

As many topics as there are in the world today that people think differently on (and there are a LOT), I think we can all agree on this: at the end of our life, we want to be able to look around and say with confidence that we made a positive impact on those around us. As leaders, we want to lead with significance. Our families, our teams, our ministries.

If you’re just joining us, today is our 7th session. But before we get into that, let me point you in the right direction, if you missed any of our previous sessions. You can start catching up at the links in the Resources section below.

Today we are talking about our sixth leadership quality and how to deal with annoying people. Because let’s face it. We all have people around us that are difficult to lead and interact with. In this session, I discuss two techniques that will help you manage this type of relationship.

Game Plan

Today’s Game Plan has a couple parts. If you lead a team, a family, a small group (and remember, we are all leaders) – try these exercises with those you lead:

Know their story: What do you know about those who you lead? Do you know what makes them them?
Encourage and praise lavishly: Do you offer encouragement frequently? Lavishly? If not, start by getting to know what would encourage each person. “Encouragement languages” are things like:
- Quality time
- Words of affirmation
- Acts of service
- Gift giving

The kicker: now that you’ve given it some thought, gotten to know the other person – take action. Pick 1-2 people this week to put this into practice with. Then come back and tell us what you learn. I bet you’ll find that as encouraged as you make the other person feel, you’ll find the return even greater for yourself.

If you’re interested in learning more about our new one-on-one leadership intensive, Leading With Significance, where we talk about this quality and go into greater depth in your leadership development, use our Contact Us form to let me know and we’ll be in touch.