Leading From A Deeper Place
There are forces in the world that are intangible and unseen.
Yet most folks rely on their physical senses, relying solely on what they can see, touch, weigh, and measure.
I've often thought about Thomas in the Bible and what must have been going through his head to say, "Until I see His hands, feel the wounds of the nails, and put my hand to His side, I won't believe what you are saying."
Oh, I get being skeptical to what cannot be explained.
For safety's sake, I'm someone who wants a tangible, rational explanation for things in life.
When something goes up, I expect there's a down.
When something goes left, I expect there's a right.
When things don't add up in the way that I've been told life works, it's confronting.
When I look at leadership through this lens, I can better understand why my expectations of others haven't often been met.
The majority of folks don't have the ability to cope with things that don't seem to make sense.
Speaking about an intangible force that ensures the world keeps on spinning is more than just the universal law of gravity.
That's God.
And there's no simple explanation.
Try to wrap your head around how the ground beneath your feet is actually suspended in mid-air, circling around a sun.
Forces of nature like tornados and thunderstorms leave all folks helpless and feeling out of control.
Because they are.
It's not that most folks are ignorant about forces
that are unseen and intangible.
It's just they choose not to acknowledge their very power - and the amount of intelligence that is accessible when acknowledged.
When I opened my business over 20 years ago and got into teaching leadership, I thought there was a simplicity to the work, where if certain principles were understood you could thrive.
Over time, I've discovered that's just not true.
Much of what occurs on the planet and in everyday life is entangled with cosmic alignment.
People create all sorts of stories so they can wrap their head around that, so it's easier to digest rather than just understanding there are some things that you cannot explain.
And again, for me, that's God.
When I brought God into my body of leadership work, it started to make sense in ways that are hard to describe.
There are no expectations about this plus that equals something else, as with intangible, unseen forces, the equation can have exponential results that cannot be explained.
There is a way leadership comes alive when you make room for what cannot be explained.
The moments when reason falls short and human understanding runs out are often the moments when the most extraordinary answers arrive.
I have seen doors open that no strategy could have forced.
I have watched solutions appear in the exact moment they were needed.
That is what happens when you lead with an awareness of the One who holds it all together.
The results may not make sense on paper, yet they carry a power that shapes lives and outlasts you.
ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to choose one leadership challenge you are facing right now.
Write down what you can see and measure.
Then name what you sense is also shaping the outcome — a conversation that came at just the right time, a shift in someone’s openness, an inner knowing you can’t ignore, a divine alignment that placed the right person in your path.
Let both guide your next step.
