Christmas Lessons for Every Leader
Christmas is a time when we are consumed with all the holiday preparations, festive decorations, and gift exchanges. It’s a time when we (mostly) pause to celebrate the most miraculous event. The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Generally, we look forward to the season and all its values of kindness, charity, and service. We also enjoy practices such as family gatherings, hanging twinkling lights, and unwrapping gifts under a Christmas tree.
However, amidst the joyful celebration and often self-induced stress, leaders should take time to ponder the many lessons we can learn from the values and practices of the season.
Lessons from Christmas
Here are some core lessons every leader can benefit from understanding and applying about the Christmas season.
Pause and reflect for growth. Christmas is not just a holiday. It’s a time of reflection for personal renewal and rejuvenation. It marks the end of one year and forces us to think about the coming year. Most often, we spend that time rushing to finalize activities and wrap up projects to meet the year-end deadline.
However, we should recognize that Christmas presents an opportunity to pause, reflect, and renew, leading ourselves and our organizations to overcome greater challenges and deliver even greater successes.
Therefore, as we enjoy the festivities of the season, let’s take time to renew and clarify our visions for the path ahead.
Be kind and generous. The Christmas season encourages lavish generosity and kindness. This stems from the example in Luke 2:7-14 of Jesus being given to us as a gift from the Father, and the gifts shared with the baby Jesus by the three wise men. The best part is that generosity is contagious. It has an impact on both the receiver and the giver.
Similarly, leaders should be kind and generous to others. The Christmas lesson of giving can be replicated in many ways.
- We can unlock the power of affirmations by being generous with praise and recognition.
- Offer gratitude often.
- Give the gift of time by mentoring others.
While it does not take much to share generosity, the impact is significant and memorable.
Invest in relationships. Christmas is a time when we take time to focus on what matters the most: family. Families gather to strengthen bonds and celebrate their relationships.
These relationships can be our secret weapon to overcome the stressors of life through the support and encouragement we can get from those who care about us the most.
It’s crucial that we take time to strengthen our business relationships. This is a vital part of any leader being successful. We must get more in touch with our organizations and teams to increase interdependency.
We should strengthen the relationships with our peers to increase collaboration and mutual successes. Let’s not forget to connect with our business partners and clients. Of course, we must also take time to strengthen the relationships of those providing coaching and guidance to us.
Spread joy and hope. Christmas is a happy time. It’s marked by the atmosphere of joyful celebration and hope for a brighter future. We identify this by the festive environment, the Christmas carols we sing, and the holiday laughter that fills the air when our family gets together. There is also an unspoken hope that a better day is around the corner.
As leaders, let’s take time at the end of the year to pause from the flurry of year-end activities – for a cause. Pause so that we can spread joy and hope by recognizing and celebrating our organization’s accomplishments.
Let’s also pause so we can clarify the path ahead for the upcoming year. Clarity induces hope and confidence. The importance of this lesson becomes clear when we are in touch with the people we influence.
There’s one other powerful impact we can make when spreading joy and hope. We need to learn how to lead in the face of tragedy.
While Christmas is a happy time for most, it’s a sad time for some who may be reminded of some unfortunate situation. Spreading joy and hope through compassion and empathy may bring peace to an employee, a student, a Church member, or even a critic who is having a difficult time during that season.
Never underestimate the value of a genuinely positive attitude.
Be resilient and adapt to change. With all the planning and preparations, I guarantee that not every Christmas pageant, or family gathering, or nativity display will be executed flawlessly.
There will be setbacks from some unpleasant relationship situations, disappointments, or other unplanned disruptions such as inclement weather. That’s normal. What’s also normal is that somehow, the celebration will go on, and we will enjoy the show.
The purpose of the season shines through when we focus on the goal and do not allow setbacks to dictate the outcome.
Leaders accept that disappointments and setbacks will come because experience teaches us that every leader will face challenges. Experience also teaches us how to be resilient and adapt to overcome those challenges. In turn, those challenges develop even deeper and more diverse experiences.
Armed with the lesson of handling change, we need to be agile enough to pivot to a new direction if necessary.
Christmas is generally accepted as a time to pause, celebrate, and reflect. Let’s not only reflect but also act on the leadership lessons the season shares with us. These lessons help us grow, inspire generosity, encourage relationship investment, induce positivity, and drive resilience by being agile.
Adopting these lessons will increase our effectiveness as we draw from the values and practices of the Christmas season. Not only will we be more impactful, but our organizations will be better set up to successfully face the new challenges that are sure to surface during the upcoming year. The beauty of these lessons is that they can be applied year-round.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:7-14 KJV)
Empowered Leader Reflection
What other leadership lessons have you learned from the values and practices of Christmas?
Your turn. Would you share your thoughts with us below?
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