Good Leadership is connecting positively with people, special guest Michelle Sims

At Soul Inspired Leadership we speak with leaders who lead from within and let the environment reflect them rather than the leader reflecting the environment.On that note how have you taken the current environment and challenges as a leader?Having to work from home was a massive transition. Most of us have not worked from home before. It started with bringing the team together when we weren't physically together. Fortunately, everyone responded to the change quite well. As a leader I continued leading the way I lead in a different format. Focused on connecting with people. Today we're more connected than when we were in office physically. People appreciate being connected especially when one is working remotely, and that personal interaction helps. This connectivity is an important point.In the office it's sort of taken for granted. Whereas using virtual formats one has to create that environment and feeling of being and getting connected. The key here is that we are now purposeful in making time and having more meaningful conversations. Changing environment doesn't mean changing what you do. It means changing the context of how you do what you do. In coaching it's coming out that executives find their leaders more conscious about connecting. The social interaction, in connecting, adds a lot to an employee and it also means a lot. Understanding the social bit is key. It's not all work related but regular social conversations that help set the environment. It creates the added value of understanding one's wellbeing and health in all aspects. As a leader one works at it in terms of enabling this. This impacts efficiency and productivity. As a leader how we encourage and model the wellbeing matters. It shows up in how we lead people and shows up in the team mentality. Looking at it collectively in terms of how we help and hold each other up. It’s key, as a leader, to look after oneself so that one has the mental strength and physical wellbeing to then help others. Leadership is about leading yourself first. To be able to lead effectively one has to have the energy to do so. One has to build that energy level up each day and taking positive action for self helps in that. Self-nurturing is particularly important in self-leadership. Maintaining one's physical and mental wellbeing as well has having the self-discipline to do what good leaders do.