Heal to Lead

22Essential Work

INHERENTLY, WE KNOW how to heal ourselves. When we are ill or injured, our bodies remedy without thought. We are living proof that when we are unwell, balance must be restored, and so it is. No matter the size of our “T,” everyone is capable of restoration to wellness. We have simply forgotten how essential it is to heal as leaders, so we stay in our pain, rely on survival mechanisms, and make sure we get our share of what's on offer before someone else gets theirs (or gets us). This is the pain tolerance we have subscribed to because somehow it has become easier to live in a state of threat perception than to lean into the discomfort of uncertainty and effort it takes to integrate our emotional and psychological wounds. But leaning in is our responsibility, and you know that now.

Healing will always be about progress, not perfection. You need not feel like you must achieve some enlightened state of being, or have reached some destination where all or most of your trauma has been integrated before you can light the way for others. That day might always feel like it's just around the corner, and in waiting for it you'll miss out on opportunities to change other people's lives. We are all actively healing, all the time.

In the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, there's a scene where all four children have already been downsized, and they are lost in the lawn of their backyard. The neighborhood lawn mower walks through the gate, starts up the machine, and proceeds ...