The opening two sentences, “People who frustrate you fill holes in your leadership. You need them more than you think…” are so powerful that when I read those I felt it my boots. It is very easy to distance oneself from those who don’t immediately jibe with one’s leadership style, but, as this post suggests, “The richness of leadership is found in community, not isolation. Cultivate a team that shares your values but looks at things different from you.” Very powerful.
http://leadershipfreak.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/frustration.jpg?w=450&h=274

Leadership Freak

People who frustrate you fill holes in your leadership. You need them more than you think.

I took on my first leadership challenge in 1981. I didn’t even know what leadership meant. I did know that it seemed I was surrounded by people who frustrated me. They didn’t want to do what I wanted!

Since then, I’ve learned to appreciate frustrators; the people who look at the world different from me. Sometimes they don’t want what I want. Frequently, however, we want the same thing, but they’re frustratingly different.

I never liked it when someone told me I was like my mom. But, I am. My temperament comes from mom’s French-Canadian roots, emotional. I’m an emotion filled leader and I’m emotional. I work at being emotionally steady.

My first leadership friend was frustratingly steady. He’s still my friend, thankfully. During a recent skype chat, I admired the steady cadence of his thoughtful…

View original post 202 more words