By Marisa Geitner, President and C.E.O.
Leadership
development is important for all of us as we grow within our work and gain
alignment with what fuels us. One of my favorite leadership reads is The Four Elements of Success written in 2005 by Laurie Beth Jones. Despite its
age, it remains a relevant resource. It is grounded in the realization
that throughout our worldly existence we have an innate need to form teams and
bond with others, while acknowledging the good, bad and ugly that
comes through the human dynamic of relationships.
The
book groups behavioral tendencies into understandable terms we can
remember by using the elements of nature: Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. The
definitions, matched with the elements as we know them, makes
the tendencies more understandable and easy to discuss. For example, we
can easily think of the qualities of fire -- hot, unpredictable, smoldering,
fast moving, brilliant, colorful, mesmerizing, forging, etc. Perhaps we can
also easily draw association to those whose behavioral tendencies lean toward
that element. We can then draw correlations related to the interaction
between elements -- fire is fed by wind, cooled by water, etc. We can
understand the strengths and challenges among elements just as we see the
dynamics among human tendencies.
Our
team at Heritage Christian studied this book in early 2006. It allowed us
a safe and comfortable way to discuss our dynamics as a team. We learned so
much about one another and how to better work alongside each other. I even
remember some of my colleagues who lean toward predictability, stability and
planning (Earth) would post signs on their doors during busier times of the
month that said "No Wind Zone." It was a fun and safe way to suggest
to their somewhat relentless, unpredictable, more impulsive coworkers that this
wasn't a good time to pop in and brainstorm. Our experience was so
successful through the book study that we welcomed Laurie Beth Jones in for a
deeper dive into the concepts. To this day many of us still identify with the
elements when digesting team dynamic and working to appreciate the needs of
those around us.
It
is a quick, enjoyable read for teams, and it's just over 250 pages. If you give
it a try, I don't think that you'll be disappointed. This leadership resource
stands the test of time.
