Hopefully, you can see the tiny splinter in my finger. In just three days, my finger has gotten sore and red. It hurts to bend it or touch it. One tiny splinter causing so much pain and overall distraction.
Although I felt it the first day, I could not locate it in my finger. It was just mildly sore. Now I can see the spot where it is lodged, however, my finger is much the worse for it. I knew when I couldn’t find it the first day, that it would probably lead to more pain and inconvenience.
We all have splinters from time to time. Now you might get a physical one from wood in the fireplace like me, but all of us get splinters in our relationships — both personal and work.
Our leadership lesson is that just like my wood splinter, our life splinters also get worse if we leave them uncared for. They get sore, maybe infected, and begin to limit us in different ways.
Sometimes they start with a cross word or a mistake, a moment of embarrassment, lack of appreciation or recognition — you know what those splinters feel like. If we leave them under the skin, they begin to distract us and hurt our mindset.
The best medicine for my wood splinter is removal and then letting the infected spot have some air and sunshine. It’s the same with our life splinters, the best thing we can do is work to remove them. The removal process starts by letting the other person know about your splinter. Chances are they have a similar splinter caused by us. The removal happens when we begin the conversation and recognize that we have a problem festering. The air and sunshine come about as we listen intently to them to understand their perspective. It’s important to communicate what we perceive and feel but just as important that we seek to understand theirs. Listen first for a quicker healing process.
We can’t avoid splinters entirely but we can have less pain with quick removal. Sometimes, it involves a hard conversation, and even then, it’s better to have that conversation sooner than later.
What splinter do you have right now that needs removal?
The Rest of The Story
CeCe: What’s wrong with your finger
Me: Nothing
CeCe: Yes it is, I see you holding it funny and it’s red
Me: I have a splinter in it
CeCe: Well, why don’t you stop and take it out? It’s gotten worse leaving it in there.
Finding purpose begins with finding significance, which begins with valuing people. I am better because of this book, I’m confident you will be too! Mark Cole, CEO Maxwell Leadership
Grab your copy of Leading with Significance to find more magnetic insights to help you on your unique journey.
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