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Leadership

From exhaustion to giving again

Ruth, smiling, in front of a blue sky

I thought I had to carry the whole school. In six sessions I learned to share it, and I started to enjoy leading again.

Ruth, School leader, Kenya

Two years ago one short message arrived. “I am tired and I don’t know if I can go on,” it said. Nothing more.

The first conversation was online, on a bad connection, with the camera off. The coach mostly listened. At the end there was no plan, only one question to take home: what would you do if you did not have to carry this alone?

What changed

Over six conversations, the question became a list: tasks to hand over, people to trust with them, one evening a week without the phone. None of it was new advice. What was new was saying it out loud to someone who did not need anything back.

  • Three people now share the leadership.
  • The team meets every Monday to pray before they plan.
  • There is time again for people, which was the reason to start.

Looking back

“I expected someone to fix me. Instead someone helped me hear what I already knew.”

Does this sound familiar? You don’t have to wait until things are bad.

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