Leaders are people. And people thrive in healthy relationships with others.

​In the past two years, we can see the negative effects isolation has on our mental health. According to the CDC "The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on our lives. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming, and cause strong emotions in adults and children." It goes on to say, "feelings of loneliness and isolation can increase stress and anxiety." The article has a list of healthy ways to cope with stress. Almost half, 40% of healthy coping strategies included connecting with other people!

In leadership, it is critical to avoid leading alone at all costs. I ask clients to visualize a group of people sitting in a circle with a beach ball in the middle. At first glance, it looks like what we see represents the reality of the ball. To me, it looks blue and yellow. Yet, when the group begins discussing what they see, it becomes a multicolored beach ball. It is the same in leadership. If we rely on only what we can see - our perspective - our perspective of reality becomes skewed. To put yourself in the best position to win, a leader must be in a community learning with others!

You may or may not be a believer in Jesus - that's ok. I hope you can take something of value from this article! I cannot write with integrity on this topic without including the inner peace I found in Christ. Feel free to read or skip this one - either way I'm glad you are here.

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7​