“Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others.” – John Maxwell
As a coach, leader, educator, or facilitator you have the great honour and responsibility of creating positive impact and influence in your community. You also have the unique position of holding the space for people to grow and move toward their potential.
From our experience in hosting transformational retreats, we’ve uncovered some golden nuggets to drawing out the best in your community. While the role of the leader is typically to move a group or community forward toward a common goal, it is important to recognize the individual hopes and dreams which contribute to realizing the collective potential.
What might it be like to create room for individuals to shine by contributing their gifts and pieces to bring their strengths and skills forward within the community?
Transformational leaders seek opportunities to guide their community toward uncovering the answers within, hold them in the highest vision of potential, and support them to achieve what they might never have thought possible.
Guide them inwards
A powerful practice to offer any community is the invitation of exploring guided questioning to connect with their potential. Asking thoughtful questions may help to bring forward how an individual is yearning to grow, what they are excited about, and how they’d like to contribute to the community. Remember that every individual has insights living within them. Often the best thing a leader can do is to nudge them in the direction of gathering those insights.
We’ve created an exercise, Finding Your Inner Hero: An Exercise in Self-Discovery, which may be used or serve as inspiration for the introspective journey to potential within.
Hold them in their vision
With insights gathered, it is important that individuals are seen and recognized in their vision by sharing their reflective experience. Speaking out how they desire to connect with their potential helps weave these dreams into the community goal.
Within the collective vision, what might it look like to move with the possibility of individual potential to manifest within the community?
A supportive way to hold your community in the vision of their best selves is through the creation of personal inspirations. The inspiration can anchor the leader, community, and individual into potential. (The inspiration for our new leadership retreat is ‘Tapping into our innate gifts, we explore and embrace what it is to lead authentically and realize our collective potential.’)
Champion for their success
With a vision of potential and a personal inspiration to guide the way, it’s time for you to add in your gifts and support. Your community members chose you as their leader because they trust you and because you believe in them.
It is important to keep communication open and motivate your community into action towards their success and goals. Think of this as watering the seeds of their vision so that it may bloom into its potential. What support might they need in order to embody who they dream to be? How may you tend to the seeds of your own vision and potential in your leadership of others?
Are you dreaming of exploring new levels of your leadership? Take your community deeper into their potential through our new retreat, Evolve: The Art of Transformational Leadership & Facilitation.
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