On Twitter I follow Terry Small, the ‘Brain Guy’. His take on life gets me every time, and it’s easy to see how he became an international speaker, motivator, learner and teacher. This is one of his tweets, from the Servant Leadership Centre of Canada; The 11 Pillars of Servant Leadership

  1. Calling – you are compelled to lead others because of a belief in something that is larger than yourself.
  2. Listening – you believe that the best way to understand and to help others is to listen to them.
  3. Empathy – you understand that everyone has their own perspective and you try to see the world through their lens.
  4. Healing – you recognize that as a leader of others, you have the ability to change the narrative of their stories.
  5. Awareness – you recognize the need to be aware of yourself and your surroundings, and challenge what doesn’t feel right.
  6. Persuasion – your role is not to direct others, but to encourage them to move in a direction that is best for them.
  7. Foresight – you have the ability to predict and understand the impact of the actions, and help navigate a better course.
  8. Conceptualization – as a leader you are able to share the vision and articulate the outcome so that your team can determine how to get there.
  9. Stewardship – your accountability and commitment to lead extends far beyond your people and your company to your community and your planet.
  10. Growth – your greatest success and accomplishment as a servant leader is to grow and develop your people.
  11. Community – your workplace culture is a place where all are welcome and all matter.

These qualities are easy to see in others that do it well. If any of the pillars are missing, well that shows up also. I aspire to being all of those but in the same way as I ask my athletes to self evaluate themselves for the qualities of the bike rider they wish to be, I’m at a 2 for most of those out of 5!

That’s a big part of our growth, knowing where we are on the continuum of our goals and it provides a map if you will, for where I’d like to travel as a coach. And that’s what’s strong with me, Day 11.

Coach Be