The actor Christopher Reeve was a leader. Not in the traditional sense that those of us who work in the corporate world may think, but nonetheless he is an example for us. It was in his journey from Superman to being trapped in a body following a tragic accident that we can begin to understand how we, as leaders, might choose to respond to the adverse and trying times that happen in our leadership and our lives.

A handsome actor who starred in the Superman movies, Christopher Reeve fell off a horse and broke his neck, severing his spinal cord and losing his ability to breathe or move on his own. There was very little chance that Mr. Reeve would get his life of privilege back. Yet only a few short months after his accident, he was appearing on television and telling the world what a lucky many he was.

Reeve chose to dedicate the rest of his life to being a positive force, raising funds and awareness for spinal cord injuries. Even after his death, I’m not sure that we can fully grasp yet the impact he has had in the medical world on these complex injuries or the inspiration he provided to thousands.

In his words:

“When a catastrophe happens, it’s easy to feel so sorry for yourself that you can’t see anybody around you. But the way out is through your relationships. The way out of your misery or obsession is to focus more on what…. other people around you need. It’s very hard to do, and often you have to force yourself. But that is the answer to the dilemma of being frozen – at least it’s the answer I found.”

Start a plan for your relationships today, not “someday”

Mr. Reeve had good relationships before his tragic accident; he didn’t wait to build good relationships “someday”. These good relationships were already in place to help him to live out the rest of his life with grace and meaning.

This prompts some questions about your work relationships. What shape are they in today? Will your followers be by your side when catastrophe strikes or will they let you muddle through it on your own?

Evaluate the quality of your relationships today, act on improving those that need to be better, and put a plan in place to sustain those that are already great. Not only will this lift up your organization at this time, it will also assure that you have followers who are firmly with you when the going gets tough.

Divide a piece of paper in half. On the left side, write out a list all of the people responsible for your success, one by one. On the right side, next to each name, scale the quality of your relationship with that person between 1 and 3, with one being “poor”, 2 being “satisfactory” and 3 being “excellent”.

Now consider: where do you need to focus your attention? What relationships in categories 1 and 2 do you need to put emphasis on and improve today? What relationships in category 3 do you need to actively sustain?

When will you start?

4 Responses to “Improve and Sustain Your Work Relationships Now”