A Five-Letter Word That is the Most Important for Leaders Today

I woke up this morning with a mind racing with ideas, to-dos, lists, actions, things I better not forget.
And then almost like perfect timing, a dear friend sent me a text with a guided prayer on an app. The prayer that was filled with grace.
Grace: Unmerited favor
  • Grace to me is like a life-ring in a turbulent sea
  • Grace to me is like a cup of cold water after a long, hard hike
  • Grace to me is what I need today as a leader under pressure to perform during days of disruption
Some of you know that I keep a little card near me that says:
“Steve Gutzler, you are not a machine. You are a human being.”
Years ago on a summer vacation to the Oregon coast, I took a walk with a bucket of sand (true story). The sand in the bucket represented ALL of my faults and failings. I wished the bucket was larger.
I then walked the bucket down the ocean to pour it out. That ocean represented to me– grace. Vast, endless, and large enough to erase all of my sand and faults. As I poured it into the ocean, it disappeared. Vanished in grace.
It was a good moment to let go and receive, to breathe in grace.

BIG QUESTION: Where do you need grace as a leader?

  • You and I are not designed to carry the world on our shoulders.
  • Some things we work for and some things we wait for.
  • It’s okay not to have all the answers and just take it “one day at a time”. Sometimes, we need to focus on energy-time mastery, emotional intelligence skills, influence, and leadership.
Can you allow yourself to receive grace today?
► Push back the to-dos for a moment to receive.
► Let go of faults and failures. You were never designed to be perfect.
► Remember, the grace you receive is the grace you’ll give others.

In these crazy days of uncertainty, focus on the grace to sustain you in leadership.

Grace to you,
-Steve

As a master storyteller, Steve has unparalleled ability to communicate dynamic business and leadership truths through stories, anecdotes and humor. Harness the power of the “number one” predictor of professional success, impact, leadership, high performance and sustainable relationships in business and life. Steve’s highest rated keynote presentation.

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“The purpose of Leadership Quest is to help professionals develop their personal leadership, vision and emotional intelligence. Everyday I strive to help leaders and teams achieve their desired goals in sales productivity, leadership, time maximization, and life-balance. ”

About the Author

Steve Gutzler is the President of Leadership Quest, a Seattle-based leadership development company. Steve is a dynamic, highly-sought-after speaker who has delivered more than 2,500 presentations to a list of clients including Microsoft, Starbucks, the Seattle Seahawks, Pandora Radio, Boeing, Cisco, Starwood Corporation, the Ritz Carlton group, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. He recently was voted #1 by the readership of Huffington Post as the Most Inspirational Leader on Social Media.

A published author on leadership and emotional intelligence, Steve resides near Seattle with his wife Julie where they enjoy time with their three adult children and six grandchildren.