Leadership through the Lens of Space
This past summer was quite full professionally, so I am excited to be coming up for air, with more space to write and reflect on the work. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about space—the space we hold and the space we create as professionals and leaders.
It’s a metaphor I return to often in my coaching work. During a 360 feedback debrief, for example, I might notice that a leader is being invited to take up more space—to speak more decisively, to have more faith in their competence, to share more openly about themselves. In other cases, the invitation is the opposite: to create more room for others—to empower and delegate more, to listen deeper and follow the lead of others in their respective lanes, to step out of the spotlight so others can shine.
Our “leadership space” shows up in countless big and small ways: in our words and body language, in how we make decisions, in how we balance process and results, and in whether people feel at ease or anxious in our presence. It’s in our vision and values, our reliability and follow-through, our humor, our energy, and our willingness to show up authentically.
And like any physical or emotional space, it requires tending to and evolving over time to suit the current context. Just as a closet or drawer often become cluttered over time, so can our leadership be stuffed with old patterns, unhelpful assumptions, or overplayed strengths. At other times, our leadership might feel too sparse and sterile, for any number of reasons, whether burnout, a lack of vulnerability or passion.
The work is to to be conscious of the space we occupy and cultivate as leaders. This becomes more important the more one advances up the ladder, and one’s energy and words become ever more contagious and weighted.
Below are a few questions for us all to reflect upon professionally during this crisp autumn time frame, when leaves are falling and changing colors; all of these questions are formulated around common challenges I see leaders need to make adjustments around different contexts.
Take Stock of Your Leadership SPACE
Are you occupying enough, too much, or too little space in your leadership?
Are your words expansive or economical—do you tend to over-explain or under-share?
Are you fostering a positive, stable climate for your team and colleagues?
Are you empowering others to contribute, grow, and shine?
Are you carving out regular space for reflection, visioning, and strategic thinking?
Are you allocating your energy in a balanced way across relationships, process, and results? Do you lean too much on one –relationships, process, results—over the others?
Are you taking due credit for your contributions while also celebrating others generously?
Are you creating space for your health, creativity, and life beyond work?
One’s leadership space is truly a dynamic operating system and one that calls for regular updates. Given the way the world is moving with ever more reliance on AI and increasing uncertainty and complexity, the place we need to stay vigilant is in maintaining thoughtful, sensitive workplaces. And as technology continues to accelerate, the leaders who will stand out, retain talent and build great organizations are those who protect—and model—the most human of spaces.
So maybe this week, take a quiet moment and ask yourself: What kind of space am I nurturing— for myself, and for others? Continuing the seasonal theme, maybe it’s time for your leaves to burst forth in bright red and orange hues, or maybe it’s time for a toned done neutral for other leaves to garner more notice.
