Response to Sally’s “The three questions”

This is the response to Sally’s post: https://create.twu.ca/sally81/2018/10/25/the-three-questions-blog-post-4-1/

I was totally shocked after reading Sally’s post. It is incredible, and the perspectives in the blog are inspiring. Especially, the way in which Sally well combined two stories with the strategic knowledge made me realize leadership stems from our daily life. Rather than complaining it is hard to manage, we should stop the trifles to feel and reflect on what is happening around us and what can we learn from it. Sometimes, the essential point lies in normal little things.

I am especially touched when seeing Sally’s answers to “Who is the most important one”. I think we all are very familiar with the serving spirit, commitment to other’s growth and other traits of transformational servant leadership (Northouse, 2016). Sally’s post has brought up the basic need for not only being a transformational servant leader but also a normal person. Being a trainer for almost ten years, I have seen many adults lost their temper or were unable to manage emotions in the face of adversity. And I cannot guarantee I could take care of myself under any situation. Then, how could we genuinely focus on others’ needs when ourselves are a mess? Hence, a strategic leader should be capable of discerning the whole situation, other people’s intention, and our own status.

Further, “using mental health strategies to stay aligned with good practice” (Hinksman, 2018, para 19) just resonates with my need for professional work. Facing adult trainees, I sense the most tricky part for me is how to resolve the negative emotions I got from them. I love to listen to their problems, offer advice, and guide them to think positively. But sometimes the negativity lingers in my mind and bothers me a lot. I have found related psychological books to learn the correct way to comfort myself and become a better “counsellor” to help them. This is how I generate a healthy communication with my trainees and form trust in the trainer-trainee relationship. Being a mentally healthy individual and help others by using mental health strategies is both my personal and professional vision.

Thank you so much, Sally.

References

Hinksman, S. (2018, October 26). The three questions (blog post 4.1). [web log comment]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/sally81/2018/10/25/the-three-questions-blog-post-4-1/

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE.