One of the things I did this week was to help test a diagnostic tool, which is part of the work Mozilla is doing on open leadership. The questionnaire had lots of questions helping me reflect on my approach to open leadership, how I support and empower others, but one question in particular made me pause:
The question asked me to indicate (I am paraphrasing here) how often or to what extent I practice self care to enable myself to be creative, compassionate, enthusiastic and so forth as an open leader. It was phrased in a way that didn’t feel familiar to me, so I had to sit back and think a bit longer on what answer I could give.
I’ve learnt a lot about how important it is to find the right balance between being busy and resting, thinking and getting things done and yet it’s something that, like many other people, I can struggle with at times.
This week is a good example because it’s been so busy, and had so many big deadlines in it, that it takes quite a lot of effort not to loose sight of that balance. So as part of my week I have been having a daily play in the visual thinkery sandbox that Bryan Mathers has set up and that I blogged about recently, making a stamp a day as a mini creative project. Making something, even if it only takes five or ten minutes, and stretching my creative muscles, thinking about something in a different manner, is a good way of resetting my brain and taking a break from a hectic schedule.
It’s a small step in the right direction and a bit of creative, making fun. It is also an important part of finding the right approach to open leadership for myself. It’s given me a new idea to try and capture a more holistic approach to professional and personal development for my upcoming appraisal, to reflect the different aspects of what it takes to be a leader.