Micah Fries’ Post

We often read and hear a lot of chatter about Emotional Intelligence, and I’m not here to downplay this attribute. However, one thing I find resonating is how inquisitive leaders get when I mention Existential Intelligence. First let’s breakdown the word existential, for my philosophers it means “concerned with existence.” For those of you who lean more towards logic it means “the existence of a thing.” No matter what side of theory you prefer it boils down to why do we exist. Secondly, let’s put this in the context of leadership, yes providing purpose, guidance, support, and motivation to get people to do the things that need to be done. Do you think existential intelligence important? 

You don’t need to be fixed. Self-doubt. Lack confidence and conviction. Nervous in front of your peers. Welcome to leadership. Every leader will experience at least one of the above. Yet, you don’t have to remain in self-doubt. Evaluate your BS. Yep, your Belief System. 3 questions to ask yourself? 1️⃣ What beliefs have led you to self-doubt? 2️⃣ When did these beliefs start? 3️⃣ Where did these beliefs come from? Next step… Upgrade your BS with truth. Start with I AM… Say goodbye to self-doubt. Say hello to confidence and conviction.

Effective leadership begins and ends with self awareness, emotional intelligence and understanding others. For example, when people bring you bad news, it is important to resist the urge to lash out and "shoot the messenger." The right approach is to manage your emotions, consider the news and deal with the real problem.  By managing your reaction and being thoughtful, you demonstrate good emotional control - a very admirable leadership trait.

Babble Effect: People who do more talking, no matter what they are saying, are more likely to be considered leaders This is an important bias we need to be aware of when choosing a leader Sometimes those “gut feelings” are really just natural tendencies which equate to no real life value We should be able to articulate why someone would do well in a position of authority There is an art to this, no doubt, but the “science” should support it

The two insights that rocked my world: 1) HUBRIS blocks learning h/t Karen Jaw-Madson https://lnkd.in/gxXFJeZ4 2) Where there is naïveté, there's often narcissism h/t https://lnkd.in/gU9dYRsm This is NOT a subtweet or directed at any one person or organization; just a pattern synthesis and observation. Life is short and more fun without hubris; we're also more effective without being naïve. Leadership goals should include self reminding how much we don't know as well as striving not to be naïve as much as possible.

Last week I shared an idea that we need to have mercy on those who doubt, in essence, those who don't believe what we believe as leaders. We need to be accepting of their opinions, their voice, their presence/posture. One of the greatest values I believe we can offer as leaders is to "HEAR" our people - Matthew 11:15 makes it clear - "Him who has ears to hear, let him hear" We must remember that listening is the tool for hearing, its not the art of hearing, and sometimes we need to use the tool a number of times before we actually hear. We need to train it, strengthen it and value it. Be humble! Leadership is about leading and the power in leading, or one of, is to hear your people, which takes your time, the greatest sacrifice you can make. Leadership is simple but it is not easy, but nothing worth doing is ever easy! Go and lead!

Leadership is defined by a person in whom people willingly emulate. A leader produces joy even during a moment of chastisement. We must certainly address situations where harm is possible, but - never neglect to shine light on every possible positive impact.

Choice Theory Leadership is about relationships. If a leader exemplifies the caring habits, there will be less turnover, better attendance, and better performance. This is what I teach leaders to do at https://lnkd.in/gKTvTMfk.

Manipulative leadership...the manipulative leader does not value or respect those they try to manipulate. they often try to use their power position and title to impose their views on others. this is caused by singular self interest stemming from low EQ.

In the past few years of leading, I have come to learn that Leadership is vulnerability. It exposes you, every day you have to meet your flaws and consciously decide to humble yourself and learn better or keep pride and watch everything crumble around you. Leadership allows you to meet all your flaws, and all your shortcomings every day in 3Dimensions. It allows you to see how fragile you can be at times and how uneasy certain situations will make you feel. It allows people who were once inspired by you to meet you at your breaking point and leaves you naked covered in your flaws, failures and shortcomings for them to see. It suffocates you to some extent. However, the primary essence of leadership lies in its capacity to facilitate personal growth, learning, the willingness to unlearn, and the cultivation of emotional intelligence. Confronting one's shortcomings serves as a prompt for self-improvement, prompting the question: "How can I enhance myself?" If you are a leader in any capacity share your experience in the comments.