Leadership, With Grace

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry and the author of I Need a Job!

Whether we’re immersed in warmth and love or burdened by heartache and loss, each day starts the same. With every sunrise, we have a choice.

One month ago, we ushered in a New Year with anticipation for what the next twelve months might bring.

A turn of the page with promises of hope, perhaps more empathy and much more understanding. Yet, differences continue to overshadow our commonalities, with a stronger need for compassion, conversation and dialogue.

So, what is leadership asking of us now? It’s both a rhetorical question and a statement. And it invites reflection and exploration of a world that’s not about us, but about others. 

Leadership is inspiring others to believe—and enabling that belief to become reality.  But at its best, it strives for more…. 

Leadership transforms self-interest into shared interest.

It is elevating and constructing.

Leadership is uniting.

It offers a voice to the voiceless.

Leadership listens to those who feel unheard.

It is knowing that it is not about us – but it starts with us.

And above all, leadership is grounded in Grace.

For grace is what makes us inherently human—the better self that shines a light for others. A light that can illuminate even the darkest moments.

I often reflect on the words of 19th-century minister Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Let us all remember our shared humanity.

My thoughts and compassion are with our colleagues and clients, as well as their families and friends—especially those who have been affected in the Minneapolis community.

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