Enjoy! I was excited that I got to incorporate part of 2 Peter Chapter 1, since that chapter is AMAZING! and a great way to establish this same process. In the coming weeks, I will elaborate more on that chapter. It's a good one.
For those of you looking for a #Weblog Wednesday post, I will get one or two up soon. t's been a little bit busy. But let me know if you are reading them! It's hard to tell sometimes...
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In taking the Personal
Values Survey, I found that I scored the highest in the following three
Values: Transcendence, Knowledge and
Wisdom, and Temperance.
These three values connect in a very real way to me, and
have been something that I have been studying about during the past year or so.
I was not greatly surprised at receiving these three as the highest values, and
while they are strengths for me, I also see them as areas that I seek to
improve.
Transcendence:
This value relates to me in a strong way. Transcendence
is a value that helps me seek for greater purpose in what I do in my daily
life. Instead of just working for a paycheck or promotion, I seek to work to
take care of my family and stay actively involved in my church. This value also
helps me to have real purpose and gives me the ability to change the lives of
others.
The admonition to seek for that which is greater than I and
to build the kingdom
of God first, allows
other things to fall into place when I do so. I have recently started reading Spiritual
Roots of Human Relations by Stephen R. Covey, and in it I find it a strong
way to understand what I want to accomplish when it comes to Transcendence. I have sought to
recognize leaders who share similar values that I do, such as Stephen R. Covey,
Kim B. Clark, and a few others, and see what makes them successful. In doing
so, I hope to be a more involved and culturally aware leader.
I know that it is important to incorporate spiritual
elements into the business world, but see it as a challenge as well because of
how it can be perceived. Some consider it a weakness, or as misguided, or
insensitive to others when topics of spirituality, religion and belief systems
are brought up, but this very exercise that we are completing has to do with how
our values shape us as leaders. It is crucial to know what makes a leader from
all aspects of life, and while it is not always necessary to agree on beliefs
and values, it is imperative to understand them.
Once I recognize this value, it actually leads directly into
the next value—
Knowledge and Wisdom:
I am always desirous to learn and adapt to new information. When I receive
knowledge, I seek to either incorporate it into my life or discard it as
unnecessary, depending on its usefulness. I believe that a principle that comes
from knowledge is how important it is to process information as effectively as
possible. Experiences from work, school, family life, church, and every aspect
of my life provide knowledge and experience that can be assimilated into making
me a stronger leader in all of those realms.
Wisdom means that knowledge is applied effectively. While
working in a professional environment, a manager told me the power of mistakes.
It can be good to make a mistake. A good mistake means that you won’t do
something again, or change the way that something is done. A bad mistake is
when it continues to occur. True wisdom comes from the former.
Seeking after knowledge can be a powerful tool in an
adaptive or analytical leader, but can be presented as a challenge when it
comes to an assertive or empowered leader. This is an area that I am
continually working on. I can be incredibly assertive if I am extremely
informed on the information of which I speak. I address Financial Aid questions
constantly in my job, I teach an adult Sunday school every Sunday to
contemporaries who are in a variety of learning capabilities, and speak
confidently in both of those areas, but I am always willing to learn, and have
found it to be a challenge when speaking in a management style of
leadership.
Again, this value and its three principles lead into the
next value which is Temperance.
Temperance: This
means that I am constantly seeking to find and incorporate balance into my
life.
Temperance also involves constant reflection and analysis to
help me transform who I am into who I want to be.
Temperance, to me, doesn’t just mean self-control, meekness,
or moderation, but a way to judge and make decisions. I once taught a class on
this particular subject and learned some masterful lessons from it. In seeking
for balance, it involves not just trying to diffuse a situation that is heated-up,
but also to be empowered to stand up for, and defend something that is
one-sided or indefensible. This takes courage and assertiveness, and is a key
element to temperance.
I find Temperance to
be an element that must have knowledge and transcendence behind it, for one
cannot judge or make key decisions if they are not based on prior knowledge and
a purpose behind it. A business leader should not make decisions that will lead
to anything besides a greater impact for the company (purpose) and backed by at
least some knowledge.
In 2 Peter Chapter One (in the Holy Bible), Peter mentions
faith, virtue, and knowledge, followed by temperance. I feel that faith and
virtue (understanding a higher power and being willing to act—virtue—) are
steps that lead to greater knowledge; and, once that it obtained, more balanced
(temperate) decisions can be made.
Goal
A goal that I seek to establish is based on really all three
of these values and their associated principles, but, to focus on one, it would
be from the Transcendence value.
Throughout the past 6 weeks, I have recognized more than ever the strength of a
spiritual leader. One of the weaknesses that I have is not speaking with
authority and empowerment. I find great insight in studying the lives of
spiritual leaders because of how empowered they are. They are steadily bound by
a higher power, but dutifully speak with power and authority because of the
knowledge they have. Therefore, I feel that with the bulwarks of knowledge and
temperance, I need to put more faith and knowledge into my decision-making. I
will study the lives of great spiritual leaders and journal what makes them the
way they are and create an action plan for how to implement the actuating
principles more into my life. With the strength of analyzing and gaining
knowledge, I can become a more empowered leader by incorporating these three
values more into my life.
~~~
I plan on incorporating this exercise more into the future. Once Values are established, focus on what principles gain be brought out of them. (My favorite way to do that, although not done for this post is with if/then statements -- If I do or don't do this, then this will or will not happen). Once principles are governed, a more solidified and hopefully measurable goal will emerge. Measurable!
Now I can incorporate my love of Biographies into my personal development!! Yay!
I recently finished a biography on Brigham Young and will attempt to get a book review up for that soon.
Have a great week!
