{"id":7997,"date":"2023-12-28T23:16:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T05:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/?p=7997"},"modified":"2023-12-28T23:16:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T05:16:08","slug":"how-to-prepare-your-soul-for-more-effective-leadership-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/28\/how-to-prepare-your-soul-for-more-effective-leadership-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Prepare Your Soul For More Effective Leadership In 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There will be hundreds of posts readily available this week to help you set new leadership targets for 2024.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Today, I want to ask you a very different leadership question: \u201cIs my soul in a better place today than it was a year ago?\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

For 12 months you\u2019ve been doing the hard work of leadership. You\u2019ve led through the rapidly-changing landscape of the post-pandemic world that has likely shaken up your team or organization. You\u2019ve been:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    Making tough decisions,<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
  • \n

    Re-arranging teams,<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
  • \n

    Disappointing people for a greater purpose,<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
  • \n

    Saying \u201cno\u201d,<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
  • \n

    Challenging your team to remain engaged in this uncertain economy.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    All of these necessary tasks can take a toll on the leader\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n

    The writer of the biblical book of Proverbs states emphatically,\u00a0\u201cAbove all else, guard\u00a0your heart, for everything you do flows from it.\u201d (Proverbs 4:23).<\/strong>\u00a0For leaders, this means taking time at the end of a full year to examine the condition of your inner being.<\/p>\n

    So before you tackle another year, before you set down another list of goals and resolutions, take time to wrestle through these questions. At the end of this year of leadership:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • \n

      Is my heart towards people more, or less, compassionate than a year ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n

      Am I growing more, or less, irritable than I was a year ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n

      Does laughter come to me more or less easily than it did a year ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n

      Is my appreciation of natural beauty more, or less, heightened than it was a year ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n

      Would people describe me as more, or less, \u201cwinsome\u201d than I was a year ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n

      Is my connection with God more, or less, fulfilling today than it was a year ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      This list is far from exhaustive, but I would urge you to reflect on these kinds of questions before you even think about tackling a new hill in 2024.<\/p>\n

      Because while resolutions and goals really\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0important, a healthy soul trumps everything.<\/p>\n

      As the Proverb says, \u201ceverything flows from it\u201d.<\/p>\n

      Happy new year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      There will be hundreds of posts readily available this week to help you set new leadership targets for 2024. Today, I want to ask you a very different leadership question: \u201cIs my soul in a better place today than it was a year ago?\u201d For 12 months you\u2019ve been doing the hard work of leadership.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1026,7,807],"tags":[984,1051],"class_list":["post-7997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goals","category-leadership","category-spiritual-life","tag-leadership","tag-soul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7998,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7997\/revisions\/7998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}