1.
When talking about leadership, there are always key characteristics that come to my mind that are often required of a good leader. Usually this person should be smart, enthusiastic, good at communicating, bold and confident. Parker Palmer speaks of a different characteristic that is needed that is usually not on people 's requirement list. That is the idea of leading with light. Palmer first explains in his book, Let Your Life Speak, that most people have shadows in themselves. Things inside themselves that are holding them back, things that are causing a “darkness” in their life and will continue to cause that darkness until they face it and work through it. These shadows, if not dealt with, continually discourage us and cause even more weakness and darkness to be over us. As a result, we also unintentionally tend to cast those shadows over others that we are leading. Palmer suggests, “If we do not understand that the enemy is within, we will find a thousand ways of making someone ‘out there’ into the enemy, becoming leaders who oppress rather than liberating others”(Palmer 80). This is something that is very evident in our world today when we hear about people being discouraged by their leaders and not respecting their leaders well because of the way they are being treated by those people that are in power over them.
2. …show more content…
This is not how leaders should be, but when we meet our shadows face to face and work through them we are defeating those shadows and they can be replaced with light! This light is encouragement and strength that came from overcoming our personal weaknesses that were holding us hostage by our own
When talking about leadership, there are always key characteristics that come to my mind that are often required of a good leader. Usually this person should be smart, enthusiastic, good at communicating, bold and confident. Parker Palmer speaks of a different characteristic that is needed that is usually not on people 's requirement list. That is the idea of leading with light. Palmer first explains in his book, Let Your Life Speak, that most people have shadows in themselves. Things inside themselves that are holding them back, things that are causing a “darkness” in their life and will continue to cause that darkness until they face it and work through it. These shadows, if not dealt with, continually discourage us and cause even more weakness and darkness to be over us. As a result, we also unintentionally tend to cast those shadows over others that we are leading. Palmer suggests, “If we do not understand that the enemy is within, we will find a thousand ways of making someone ‘out there’ into the enemy, becoming leaders who oppress rather than liberating others”(Palmer 80). This is something that is very evident in our world today when we hear about people being discouraged by their leaders and not respecting their leaders well because of the way they are being treated by those people that are in power over them.
2. …show more content…
This is not how leaders should be, but when we meet our shadows face to face and work through them we are defeating those shadows and they can be replaced with light! This light is encouragement and strength that came from overcoming our personal weaknesses that were holding us hostage by our own