Sparking Leadership #17 - Happy leaders make great leaders

As I head off for a summer break, I'm taking a moment to reflect on a year in leadership that has been as rewarding as it has been challenging. It’s been a year of guiding teams, offering solutions, and being the steady presence everyone can count on. But in moments of quiet honesty, I'll admit there were times when my energy was completely gone.

It's tempting to see this as a failure but, in reality, I was just feeling the emotional toll of constantly wearing the "leader mask".

Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey’s insightful book, "Build the Life You Want" offers not only great advice but also, practical insights into how you can build your own happiness based on 4 fundamental pillars. What was interesting to me was how perfectly these pillars apply to effective leadership and, crucially, to building your own #resilience in the role.

👉 Swipe through the slide deck below 👇to see how these 4 pillars - Family & Friends, Meaningful #Work, Faith, and Service - apply directly to leading a thriving #team.

Some other profound lessons I found in this great book come particularly handy to leaders navigating the emotional demands of the role:

🔎Avoid the 'comparison trap': Brooks explicitly warns against the drain of social comparison - constantly measuring our lives against others' highlight reels. As leaders, it's easy to fall into a similar trap: comparing your team's output to another's, or your leadership style to a famous CEO’s. This only breeds anxiety and depletes your energy. Focus on your team's journey, celebrate their specific wins, and trust your authentic leadership path.

🏇Manage the 'Four Horsemen' of unhappiness: The authors identify envy, contempt, fear, and anger as destroyers of happiness. A leader who fails to manage these powerful emotions within themselves will inevitably, and often unconsciously, poison their team's culture. This means practicing intentional emotional regulation as a foundational act of self-leadership that creates psychological safety for everyone.

🪚Practice 'sharpening the saw' (yourself!): Stephen Covey's timeless principle, echoed implicitly throughout 'Build the Life You Want,' is about continuous self-renewal. When you're constantly "sawing" (leading, #coaching, solving), you must intentionally "sharpen your saw" (recharge).

This book fell on my lap just at the right time and didn't fail to deliver on some powerful lessons. I can highly recommend it as your next read 😉

❓What is your most recent (and unlikely) source of inspiration?

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🌟Sparking Leadership is a weekly series on human-centered, sustainable #leadership. Follow for real talk and practical tools. In the meantime, lead with spark!