What breaks you, and why knowing matters to leadership?
We all have our breaking points. Our soft underbelly. The places we can be shamed and humiliated.
But their flavour and access points are usually different for each person.
One person may be iron-willed at work, and a puddle of emotion at home.
Another may be able to stand every human affliction, but break when she sees an animal in pain. (That would be me.)
To see someone for their humanity, their vulnerability, their brokenness, is not the same as seeing fault. When we see their wholeness, the light and dark, we enable pathways for all humans to show up perfectly imperfect. This is advanced leadership development. The starting point is for you to be comfortable in your own brokenness and vulnerability.
This does not mean that we step over crap behaviour, in ourselves or others. It does mean that we bring whole sight and deep compassion to our fellow humans. See them for all that they are, and all that they are capable of.
What breaks you? Is it the harshness of a critic, ripping you to shreds? The fear of being rejected, of not being worthy, or making the grade? Is it the heat of confrontation? Is it the depths of sorrow for inflicted cruelty on another living being?
Our broken places are signposts to where we need to go deep in our development.
In our vulnerability, when we can stand in it without shame, lies our greatest strength.
Photo credit: Bindaas Madhavi via Compfight
