I have been a student of servant leadership and bottom up leadership models most of my career. I was fortunate to begin my career in an organization that invested heavily in creating leaders at every level of the organization. They understood the power of being in service to their "frontline" customer-facing leaders. This experience taught me the power of empathy and listening.

One of the most important ways to show up in service is to suspend what we think we know and to listen. Empathy begins with listening – truly being present in the moment with someone and listening with your whole self. This skill becomes especially important in times of stress and extreme changes. In theory it sounds simple - and of course we all agree that we need to listen to others. But in real life, this takes practice and intention.

I invite you to take a moment to check in and make sure you are coming from service. Listen to and empower your team. Reach out and listen to your clients. In these uncertain times, circumstances are changing rapidly from week to week, if not day to day.

Decision making is hard and 100% certainty in the "right decision" is really not available. We will all be stronger collaborating and creating solutions together. Still, as a leader, you will need to make that hard call. You are the leader and that is what leaders do. And how you get to that decision does matter.

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