35. The Leader Reflects on The Difference

Action is essential to leadership. Otherwise, nothing will change. In this episode, Jonathan reflects on what emerged for him in answering the previous question, “What difference would it make to them?” He confronts the shame over his own inaction so far; questions whether it’s even possible to have a vision that serves both others and himself; discerns the difference between private and public; and discovers how conversation and action are inextricably linked for leaders.

01:38 Reflections on the last card, “What difference would it make to them?”

03:50 The card took me to a lonelier, private place, asking if they share with me the desire to change?

06:00 I felt several moments of shame where my own inaction stares me in the face.

08:20 Can something be of Service to others and be self-serving without negating its Service component?

10:05 We don’t dissolve into a community. We stand within it and take action.

12:05 Love and respect for each other does not mean we agree. We have to be able to disagree on ideas, diagnosis and solutions.

14:17 Realizing your vision is only self-serving if you feel your work is done.

17:38 When we do something with love, can we highlight the conditions of that love?

25:18 Whatever the form of self-expression, it is good and serves the community because it allows the individual to express herself and become her true self over time.

27:10 Are the terms of engagement different in public and private?

30:35 The vision reaffirms the necessary and good differences between public and private without erecting a wall between them.

33:42 Privacy is a fundamental human spiritual need, along with equal need for belonging to something bigger.

37:33 Conversation & Action: The critical importance of conversation to a leader.

41:15 Managing meeting conversations impeccably.

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