In The Know Radio Show: Leading With A Grateful Heart

Most business owners start the year with big plans. Now that we’re 45 days away from a new year, the pressure is on, and we’re all looking back over the past eleven months wondering where the time went.

But, the beautiful thing about November is that during this time, we collectively celebrate a season of harvest and gratitude. We gather around big tables of delicious food and enjoy the sweet fruit of friendship and fellowship as we express sincere thanks for the gifts of life, health, and prosperity. We may not have accomplished everything we wanted to at this point, but with each breath, we are blessed with another opportunity to try.

Business owners will also be thinking about the flood of projects undertaken this year.  As leaders, someone is looking to us to steer the ship, solve the problem, and carve out new ground. Not to mention writing the vision (leaders should be visionaries) and seeing that it comes to fruition and achieves a purpose greater than our own. Leaders are flooded with responsibility. But, if you can change your perspective on that flood, you may find a blessing lurking in the mire.

History lesson. About 5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt, the runoff from the mountains would cause the Nile River to flood. It covered everything making, roads impassable and in extreme cases, washing away crops. As leaders, many of us understand how this feels as times of business prosperity have been derailed by the loss of a large client or key employee.  Floods are real, and for the Ancient Egyptians, the flooding of the Nile usually lasted about four months.

Because of this, you’d think the Egyptians would consider the flood a curse – that they’d shake their fists at the impending inundation as it swept down the mountain. But, ironically, they considered the flood a gift. In fact, they called the Nile the “Giver of Life” because of what it brought to them. See, once the flood waters receded and dry ground emerged, the soil left behind was so rich and fertile – ideal for planting and growing crops – that it earned the name “The Gift of the Nile.”

The same logic can be applied to our businesses. As leaders, we can either look at our flood, get frustrated and shake our fist. Or, we can hunker down knowing that when the water recedes, the soil left behind will be so fertile that it beckons the seeds of fresh ideas that will produce a healthy harvest in due season.

Which brings us back to this season of harvest and gratitude. Everyone’s harvest looks different because all of our floods are different. What covers one may only be waist deep for others. But the reality is, as leaders, our perspective on the flood will determine if we sink or swim. When we’re grateful for the ebbs and flows of life, we resist the thorns of bitterness and welcome the rich opportunities deposited by the receding waters.

Listen to the In The Know Radio Magazine Show recording, including the Lifestyle segment on “Leading With A Grateful Heart” (31:35).