Posture Matters More

In a culture filled with partisanship and conflicting values, it is easy to get caught up in fear and a scarcity mindset. 

I saw this recently when flyers were being passed around my neighborhood by one political group, pointing out another political group and their faults. The fear of neighbors began to stir questioning and intentions toward others.

I have also seen this in organizations I have worked with. Stated values and lived values can be incongruent, causing employees to fear for their job. Or worse, morale drops through the floor, causing a loss of creative and productive potential.  

While values are important, it is the people who hold positions that must own those values to help them be meaningful in the community or organization.

In a neighborhood, the positions are simplified, based on who resides in the area. Within an organization, positional leaders are the staff and administration who make up the various roles that keep the company in business.

While positional authority can be seen as a way to enforce values, the position is less effective than relational authority, which is cultivated through posture or presence with others.  

The posture we take, whether that is of courage, kindness, meekness, or anxiety in any position, will be what is most remembered about us. Posture is also what moves us forward ore back in our relationships with others, and, over time in our positions as well.

If you want to get ahead in your job, mind your posture. In the end your posture will matter more than the title you hold. To verify this, just ask anyone who has lost a loved one which mattered most.