Titans of Industry: Leadership and Pain

On Tuesday, March 2, we kicked off Women’s History Month with the first event of our Titans of Industry series, Leadership and Pain. We were joined by Courtney Clayton Jenkins, the Pastor at South Euclid United Church of Christ, to discuss the correlation between pain and leadership. Here are our top takeaways that Courtney shared during the event:

#1: You are where you are in your life and career because of how you have navigated pain.

Everyone handles pain differently. There are people who have gone through the same struggles you have and they have let pain paralyze them. The fact that you have found a way to overcome this pain has led you to where you are right now. “The people who haven’t gotten to where you are found more comfort in numbing pain instead of embracing what the change was supposed to teach them,” Courtney shared.

#2: As a leader, you must lead through change.

Your life and the lives of those around you are constantly changing. How you manage this and handle it helps you to be a better leader. With that, the pain you have faced has made you human and vulnerable, and the people you work with can see this and connect better with you because of it. “You are a better leader to the people that follow you because your pain makes you touchable, it makes you human,” Courtney said. Also, Courtney said, it’s important to keep in mind that you were hired to move your business forward, not to keep it where it is, so it’s important to embrace that in your professional life.

#3: No pain comes into your life without the opportunity to teach you.

Courtney believes that you are a student of your own pain. Pain is designed to educate you and it provides you with the toolbox you need to process additional pain that comes your way, navigate it and overcome it.

READ THE RECAPS FROM OUR OTHER TITANS OF INDUSTRY EVENTS:

• The Balancing Act – A Conversation with Female Broker Owners
• Meet CAR’s All Women Executive Team
• Rise Up: A Fireside Chat with Leading Female Executives
• Generating Multiple Streams of Income