Preparing to be Vertical Leaders in Real Life
It was a fall day (the kind with maple frosted donuts and hot coffee) and campus was booming. Two Panhellenic women began to chat; one a mentor, one a mentee. The mentor asked, “How are you doing?” The mentee replied, “I am so busy!” This common exchange was just the start to uncovering a deeper issue. One of the Sisters was having quite the dilemma—she was feeling overwhelmed, spread too thin and not sure is she was properly prioritizing her involvement and time. Her days felt like they were running away from her and she didn’t have quality interactions with the people around her. Sound familiar?
The mentor saw this conversation as an opportunity to help the Sister think about her core values in relation to her actions. Was she really living out her values? Or was she trying to involve herself in too much, focused on quantity versus quality?
It was a gut check and meaning making question all wrapped up in one caring little bow. It was a conversation that helped to realign the mentee’s life, and blossomed into the concepts of Vertical and Horizontal Leadership.
Have you ever asked yourself why you are doing all that you are doing? Have you truly considered what value the way you spend your time has on your life? It defines you and steers your trajectory.
This depth versus breadth approach to leadership development is what we are calling Vertical Leadership. You may have guessed it… that mentor/mentee pair the story started out with is us.
As individuals, we are typically working toward deep and meaningful engagement in our life roles, through our community, work, professional opportunities and social life. In a society where the immediate response to, “how are you,” is typically, "Busy….” how do we gauge the true impact and take care of ourselves to prevent superficial involvement and burn out?
From this we see the Horizontal Leaders and the Vertical Leaders, those that spread themselves too thin and those that make meaning by expanding the depth of their involvement. We think it is possible to look at the concepts of role conflict and values alignment to address ways to become more effective. So let’s end by asking the same question that got us started….
“How are you”?