Leadership by invitation

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

My latest leadership lesson I received this year from my elderly mother. Watching a loved one or even a peer traverse a path littered with stumbling blocks can be very painful. I find myself wanting to guide them and share the benefit of my own experience, my knowledge or wisdom. I have come to understand though that all human beings have the right to their own paths without the influence of others. Interfering in other people’s lives is denying them the enlightenment gained from drawing their own lessons. I had to accept that I may not identify with the choices of my mother, nor understand them, but she has the right to her own “mistakes”, her own way, her own pace.Read more

Leadership versus “going it alone”

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

There is something very special about seeing an old friend coming back into one’s life. I received a message recently from an old friend from high school, who found me through social media. Thirty years may have passed since our last encounter. I was as startled as if a ghost had visited, and a rush of joy as if I had lost a precious gift and found it again. Read more

Sourcing your leadership

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

You have to remember that you cannot define yourself by your choices. You can avoid becoming your decisions by affirming that a bad decision was just an experience, and that next time you can choose to experience things differently. You are not your decisions. Your leadership is not the sum of your decisions – past, present or future. Your leadership lies within your character in dealing with these experiences. Read more

Adverse circumstances

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

We all know that when the sun is not visible, it is shining somewhere else. Whether the clouds are blocking our views or the night has fallen, we know that the sun will return. We also experience periods of gloom and darkness that make us lose sight of the light, but hope is the promise of returned sunshine in our lives. Warmth and glowing rays have a way of brightening even our thoughts. Read more

Rewriting your story

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

Our wounds and traumas are beyond what we inherit in life. They reflect what is passed on from generations to generations, the family story, but also our own difficult personal moments in life. They are not necessarily meant to be healed or forgotten. The pain inscribed in the body physically, emotionally, and spiritually becomes over time our own architecture of compassion to relate to others and humanity at large: a window into what might become, a pathway to change against all odds, our groundbreaking work, our contribution to the world. Read more

Leadership from the neck up

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

I do not know about you, but the culture I grew up in put the head over the heart. It was more important to use your brain to address issues and people, rather than give in to emotions.  The hierarchy between head and heart went even further in pointing to the fact that women tended to often react too emotionally, when it was perceived as more appropriate to meet new ideas from a level-headed perspective. Many around me seemed to disconnect from their emotions as a result, and to listen and respond, to give and take, from the neck up. Read more

Leaders and full spectrum thinking

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

Once again in lockdown, I am coming back to still a new terrain with the benefit of a couple of lessons learned. While somewhat more familiar, the environment is still foggy to me. Living inside myself, I have come to recognize various voices: the angry one which hardly ever speaks but clearly has an opinion; the inner child who wants, needs, and desires until exhaustion; the confused one who analyzes and cannot make much sense of the outside world; the feeling voice who actually seems to be the most helpful one these days. Read more