“The best view is after the longest climb”
Listening to an interview last week, the subject explained how his father used to motivate him as a child by using this expression. As an adult he still thinks of the meaning of this during times of stress, overwhelm and when things can be very challenging.
I like this. It really resonated with me in how I work with clients on resilience. Those who judge their goals as currently out of reach and are subsequently losing the confidence to keep going. Resilience comes up quite a bit in coaching sessions like this.
It also made me think of the things we achieve in our lives and how the hardest achievements can often feel the best. Those that feel like we’re finally at the top of that long climb.
Many of my leadership clients feel that learning about and therefore understanding themselves can be challenging. Acknowledging their motivation in life, their values, strengths and weaknesses and how they are viewed by others. Working with the Enneagram can bring these to the fore and, an acceptance of who are we are enables us to be honest about our growth and demonstrate our capacity to be open and authentic modelling what self-awareness looks like.
Working with the Enneagram also helps us learn about others. Two key elements of great leadership are self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
“Key factors in high quality leadership are self-awareness – the ability to be mindful, or ‘conscious’ about what you do, how you do it, and why you do it - and Emotional Intelligence - the ability to recognise, understand, and manage your own emotions and the capacity to recognise, understand, and empathise with the motion of others.”
We all have mountains to climb. Getting to know ourselves can feel a bit of a slog but the gift it opens up for us, the view from the top, is transformational. We can begin to become better leaders and enjoy a more fulfilling professional and personal life.
If you would like to hear more on how learning about the Enneagram could help you reach that summit, get in touch.