Graceful leadership is a journey that begins at the intersection of servant and conscious leadership. While those forms of leadership focus on what you do and awareness of self, graceful leadership is about who you’re being. There are six tenets of graceful leadership that can assist you.
The 6 Tenets of Graceful Leadership
Tenet #1 Integrating
A graceful leader knows how and can communicate their own vision and mission. They understand and are aware of their internal rhythm as well as the messages their body language communicates. In fact, they manage both so effectively that they connect to a power larger than self. They serve others with collective goodness.
Tenet #2 Evolving
A graceful leader is relentless in the pursuit of understanding and aligning self to purpose. They’re constant learners who are gentle in all pursuits, enlisting a lens of curiosity with a focus on integration. They create relationships that have balance with giving and receiving.
Tenet #3 Transparency
A graceful leader demonstrates authenticity in their own actions and words. They’re active listeners and articulate speakers who are open, clear and consistent with their message and its consequences. They don’t make sense of the world based on the labels people put on each other. They allow the people to follow and see their heart and lead from this consciousness.
Tenet #4 Connecting
A graceful leader moves from the’ construct of being to a ‘we’ construct. We, here, are universal, not just humanity. They have discovered and developed their inner guidance system that’s connected to something larger and beyond themselves.
Tenet #5 Co-creating
A graceful leader seeks novelty in solving problems that are not traditional to the way others do. They surround themselves with talents who are different, yet competent in areas they are not. They demonstrate the ability to both lead and follow, all while assuming the leadership title.
Tenet #6 Compassionately Powerful
A graceful leader influences through an open heart and clear agenda, blending stillness and action. They understand and own the impact and consequences of their behavior to self, organization and the community as a whole. Still, they manage to create room for ‘flow’ while maintaining structure.
Grace, not control
Implementing grace is less expensive and time-consuming than continuing in command and controlling principles. Sometimes, you must slow down to speed up. Doing this conclusion exercise to lift your awareness is work worth doing, for yourself and those you lead.
‘We’, not ‘me’ vs ‘them’
Grace requires ‘confidence’ to step into the ‘conflict’. When you’re operating from a need to ‘win’, you fill into a me vs them mindset, which can compound the negative aspects of the conflict. When you’re operating from the act of grace, you’re stepping outside of this negative construct and instead choose to co-create a solution that benefits the we. Of course, not everyone might get what they want, but with grace, they can reach a compromise that takes into account the larger whole. Grace in conflict allows individuals to show up as the best version of themselves.
Curiosity, not comfort
Graceful leadership isn’t just an internal adjustment. It’s also concrete actions that change how you and those around you show up for work. A single graceful leader can set off a domino effect of grace within an organization. Grace fuels bravery in the wake of adversity and conflict.
Graceful leaders confront their shortcomings head-on, resulting in both personal improvement and more effective leadership for their teams. Curiosity helps to achieve this, as it allows you to express empathy and enables you to question the status quo.
So, what’s your next step?
You have nothing to lose by continuing down the path of graceful leadership. You don’t lose any part of yourself. You don’t lose power, pride or results. In fact, they all live with with your grace.
They say the most important step in any journey is the first one. In reality. It’s not the first step. It’s the next step. Right now, the better version of you is waiting on the other side of grace. A more caring, productive and collaborative team player is awaiting for you to be unlocked.
So what’s it going to be? What’s your next step?