MONDAY MUSING BY WANGECHI KURIA LEADING BY NAMING Every day our naming of people around us gives life or takes it away. Naming carries in it a peculiar capacity for relationship, including our potential to not just see but actually perceive, acknowledge, and affirm personal identity and self worth.However, our capacity to name rightly includes our freedom to misname. Really? Yea really. I can still feel the impact of my high school teacher who continually affirmed that I am different and I could do anything I wanted to do. That I had all that it takes to shine. This continued affirmation was so remarkable that it found a place in my soul. By the simple thought of it I felt different, loved, invincible and destined for greatness. The sheer unexpected grace of being named an achiever stunned me. It may not have been the most important thing about me but she got me in a way that noticed, validated, and appreciated something deeply true about me. Being rightly named means being truly known. It changes lives. Being wrongly named is demeaning and springs leathery from deep inside; it lowers our self esteem and reduces our capacity to perform. Embedded in our words, and in our actions are the names we give to and receive from others. Nods of recognition, glances of curiosity, and signs of paying attention collectively build one another. “Hey bud, good job,” “I have noticed ………….” “Thank you for your efforts.”This are little names that matter. When positive words and actions combine, they make a perfect cocktail of life to relish on. They create an inner drive for us to do better. On the other hand, misnaming misidentifies who we are and our relations with others. The tragic consequence can be seen everywhere. Power can be measured by our capacity to give names that stick. Middle school teaches us this, if nothing else. If we carry the wrong name given to us through some powerful voice at a vulnerable moment, we can be crippled for life. When we abuse our power to name; suffering, under performance, hatred, injustice et al ensues. It is therefore paramount as a leader, as parent, as a friend, as a spouse, as a teacher et al to name right all those who look up to you. For by naming you dispense the capability to perform. Lovely week filled with positive naming. Wangechi Kuria
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 09:30:00 +0000
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