My word of the year for 2022 is peace. I selected this word based on my recent journey to understand the motives behind my thoughts and actions. You can read more about it here. I don’t know if this is true for you but my overall reaction to peace has always been detached from some serious application from every day life, and definitely not a work related quality. But somehow that has changed as I’ve sought an active meaning of the word in my life. As someone passionate about work, I want peace to reveal itself in my leadership.
As a definition peace is a state of calm joined by a lack of disturbance. But that is just an explanation. What does it mean to be an active participant in peace? Thinking through the application of peace in the workplace I’ve uncovered 5 ways it can help me and you this year.
Peace builds confidence
Confidence is all about mental strength, so this one hits home for me. Being confident in your work and your capabilities frees you from overthinking things. Still, being confident can often times be misunderstood by a lack of humility. In these cases peace builds confidence beyond what others might think of you. That consistency of thought turns confident leadership into action.
Peace fuels trust
I’ve heard it said that trust is a human currency. An exchange between people. But what happens when you don’t trust yourself, your own thought process or capabilities? That is where confidence built by peace can be powerful beyond it’s leader and spread to a team. A true leader who is comfortable in his/her strengths and weaknesses doesn’t feel threatened by the team but trusts in each member to the point of empowerment.
Peace makes you bold
Fear in the workplace is often associated with failure. We deny these emotions because we very seldom read about great leaders being this vulnerable. When you experience peace you end up seeing failure not as a fear but as a result of inaction. Great leaders who experience peace take more risks because they believe in their abilities and trust their teams efforts to be bold enough to lead without the fear of failure.
Peace generates positivity
Like a domino effect, a leader who is confident and builds a trusting environment sees the work of the team through positive lenses. Peace helps generate an atmosphere of positivity that is genuine and real. Leaders who experience peace are positive in the way they speak about the challenges at hand and in the sensitive interactions we all have with difficult people. They even remain positive when things don’t go according to plan.
Peace fuels persistence
A true sense of peace transforms a leader to go after his/her team’s goals with a real belief that they can be achieved. While good planning and clean execution are hallmarks of great leadership, being persistent in the continued pursuit of an objective is just as important. Peace allows leaders to set aside any selfish motives and helps them realize what is truly important to push through. Persistence is an energy that when fueled by positive motives rooted in peace it can be unstoppable.
In what other ways do you see peace being important to you? How can it influence your leadership? Comment below and let me know your thoughts.
David Marques 