Response to papagena163 – Learning Activity 2

papagena163’s post raised a good point about servant-leaders needing to heal themselves as well as their followers. As I was reading, I was reminded of a post by Dawn that I had previously read. I reflected on the fact that it is easy to serve others when they appreciate your efforts, but it is much more difficult to do so during periods of criticism and conflict. Just as leaders have to be critics of their own thoughts, so too do they need to demonstrate a high degree of self-awareness. Dawn wrote:  “So often the life of a leader is lived in public, that the only place we can show weakness is within ourselves. And this is a lonely place to be. In order to be effective leaders in the midst of it, we need to be very self aware and come to a place of inner healing”.  This made me realize how crucial it is to have a group of unbiased people that I trust and respect around me. People I can be vulnerable with and who help me to heal and come to terms with my strengths, weaknesses, doubts and struggles.  Without inner healing, a servant-leader will find it very difficult to continue to love and serve their followers unconditionally. As is admonished on every airline flight I’ve ever taken, one must put on one’s own oxygen mask before trying to help someone else with theirs.