“I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away”
R. Kelly’s classic ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ is a testament to the wings that we need to manage ourselves in this world. This song was released in 1996 and it translates the helplessness of the soul, the mind and the heart. How one may think that they cannot go on any longer, that they are on the verge of breaking down, and where silence seems so loud but there’s a line that follows:
“There are miracles in life I must achieve
But first I know it starts inside of me”
Kelly goes on to sing –
“If I can see it, then I can be it
If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it”
If one must fly, it should be upon the wings of compassion and awareness. The two must help you fly as a leader.
Therefore, one needs to have compassionate awareness. What this means, I will tell you in a moment.
In life, compassion is needed but attachment to the problem is not healthy at the same time.
For instance, if a surgeon gets attached to the patient then the surgeon is putting the patient’s life at risk. The patient’s well being is a concern for the surgeon which is good but not to extreme levels that limit the surgeon’s ability to perform a surgery.
Therefore, a surgeon must be compassionate but not without awareness.
“Acknowledge the problems and unfortunate incidents of life but do not convert them into your baggage.”
~Krescon Coaches
As a leader, you have to also understand the challenges that your team faces. You have to acknowledge your challenges and emotional issues as well but delving deeper into them from an emotional standpoint can weaken your ability of decision making and taking the right actionable steps.
Therefore, compassion is good but not by itself. Compassion needs its other wing, awareness. A leader can fly higher upon the wings of compassion and awareness.
Picture compassion to be a teaspoon of herbal tea leaves. Can you drink it by simply adding it to a cup? Or, do you need warm water to brew the tea leaves so their elements disperse in the water? Would this not allow you to enjoy the richness of this wonderful and healthy beverage?
Similarly, compassion works synonymously well with awareness of the true self, which further helps us gain awareness of those around us. This type of compassionate awareness is incredibly essential for any leader. This is because when a leader has gained awareness, they know how to utilize compassion in its truest form. Compassion with ignorance is a slippery road and it leads to making decisions solely based on emotions. A leader cannot be driven by emotions when they have to shoulder the responsibility of scaling their business and leading their company.
Therefore, a high spiritual quotient can help a leader gain their Ground of Neutrality, gain self-awareness, and then be in a more mature position to feel and deal with compassion.
Look at SiQ or Spiritual Quotient as a means to strengthen your wings of compassion and awareness. This way, you become a stronger leader with the capacity to lead as a savant leader.
As you embark on your leadership journey, may you develop compassionate awareness that nourishes your soul to its highest level.
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