What becomes possible when we energize the people on our teams to get through challenging times?

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

The second pillar of grace is Relationship Intelligence, the home of emotional intelligence, because everything that matters in work and life depends on the quality of our relationship with others.  

Here is an excerpt from Grit, Grace, & Gravitas:

“Mary, an executive in a large financial services firm, led people in her division through an extremely difficult period, after which her boss said, “People are complaining about your leadership.” Mary, responded incredulously, “What do you want – results or happy people?” Her boss looked at her and said, “Mary, the best leaders achieve both.” Mary had the grit and gravitas to get through this difficult period, but her team wound up feeling disempowered, drained, and depleted.”

Mary lacked the social emotional skills that distinguish the two pillars of grace… but she made a life and leadership altering choice. A choice to evolve and become a better leader.

Following her initial reaction, Mary chose to take a deeper look at her leadership and consider why her team was upset with her. In that process she saw how she could have had a more constructive impact, an eye on the importance of her team’s resilience. She saw that she could have led her team to the same business outcomes in ways that could have contributed to their well-being and sense of having accomplished something meaningful together.

What can we take away from this that would further enable us to energize the people on our teams in the midst of difficult challenges?