Refill, please!
“Fill up your own cup because you can’t pour from an empty cup.”
As a leader my energy and attitude effects my organization. My team looks to me in many ways to set an example for how we do our work, take care of ourselves, and one another. When days are long and weeks are difficult, it’s harder to lead in a way that inspires and motivates. As a leader, just like with my physical body, my cup, my emotional, mental, and spiritual being works best when it is full and not running on empty.
If I operate with an empty cup, the negative surroundings of my mind and environment pour in to fill it with undesirable junk. Before I know it, I can feel the irritation, complaining, or busyness creep into my leadership style. That can cause unintended challenges. But keeping a full cup takes a lot more effort than eating a meal.
Filling anyone’s cup involves devoting time to recharging. Taking the time to fill it with good sleep, good quiet time, good reflection time, good growth time or my favorite, good get away time. I have no problem feeding my physical body each day, it’s an easy need to meet and I always recognize when I am hungry. Recognizing when my emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing needs a top off is more difficult; there is no built-in alarm that alerts you when you are nearing “E.” What about you? Do you know when it is time to refill the cup? I will say from experience, it is better to refill your cup habitually, every day.
Just starting out I never gave myself permission to take time at work to fill our cups, I had always thought we had too much work to do. And, as with any lasting change, it starts here. I had to change. I had to see value in doing something different. Years later, I started an experiment to fill our cups as a team. The experiment has gone so well that I have taught other leaders how to do it.
As a leader, I have found that helping our team members refill their cups has been one of my greatest rewards. I have found that so many on the team have never experienced the growth found through attending leadership sessions; through reading materials or experiencing unique challenges; participating in teaching moments; or having the permission to simply become a better person.
“A full cup is the foundation of a thriving life. Pour into yourself first, then let it pour into others.”
Because I discovered the truth, that I am filling cups, not just completing our work, my leadership style changed. I understood that my job is not “fixing” people. My job is to help them be successful. If they have an opportunity to discover their answers and start filling their cups, they usually develop in a positive direction. The biggest challenge is, cups are never full, they continuously get emptied, just like feeding our bodies, cups need a re-fill periodically.
“Leadership is about pouring passion and purpose into every endeavor. A full cup ensures the abundance of these essential elements.”
Leadership is about filling cups. Go fill yours and then help others fill theirs.
Jeff
