Jolt 16: Awe Inspiring Moments with Jill Maras
Hello my friends and welcome the first Jolt episode for 2020. I am extremely excited for what is in store for each one of us in this upcoming year and decade and wanted to let you know that I have plans to serve my listeners through these Jolt episodes in an exciting way starting with this one. Two pieces that I think are important for you to know if you are just joining me on this podcast or we haven’t connected much this year is that I am operating this year with my #oneword of Serve. What that means for my listeners of the In AWE Podcast is that I intend to be consistent each week not only with my amazing guests but with these Jolt episodes. The other is that Lead with FAITH, my latest book launched this very week. Friends, at the time of this publication, the book was listed as the #1 new release in its category on Amazon, and I am stunned and elated. The best part of that for me is knowing that this message was not mine alone and that anyone about to read Lead with FAITH will receive the message in the way they were meant. I just know this.
As the In AWE Community knows, I hold high value in amplifying others, and one of the most exciting parts of this book is that I was joined in this message by some incredible leaders who contributed their own FAITH in Action stories. And for my In AWE Community, I am super pumped to share their messages with you in these Jolt episodes each week. What a gift that I get to share them with you and serve you by providing the jolt you may need to lead with less fear and more courage in your own lives through the mission in their messages.
To get us started, I am excited to share with you a contribution from the F in FAITH Framework . The F in the Faith Acronym stands for being Free to be your most authentic self. in the chapter titled “The Need for Self Awareness”, and I am honored to amply for you Jill Maras FAITH in ACTION Story.
FAITH in Action- Jill Maras, High School Principal, Illinois
Sitting beside someone I sense emotions. I tend to realize when someone is down and needing support, and find myself praying for them not knowing the details. The awareness is so second nature I thought everyone could sense these. My husband, Paul, has a knack for numbers. He can remember them and manipulate them in his mind. It’s so second nature he believed we all could do that.
Paul and I have done a number of personality assessments to get to know ourselves and each other. We laugh realizing the frustration we experience when we are expecting the other to know our emotions or remember the checking account balance, and we are reminded that these are personality gifts given by God. Each of us are given our unique personalities and called by God to use them. This begins by identifying them, and learning how to share them.
As parents of 5 kids it has been fascinating to see the combinations God has created. Recently, we all took the Enneagram Test, and shared our results with each other. We noted things that were obvious, and things that surprised us. We realized gifts we have seen each other use, and ones we would benefit from tapping into. It helped us understand why they reacted to situations differently, and truly helped us to love the person God had created even more.
At the start of the school year I asked my high school staff to take the Enneagram test. We gathered by Enneagram number to talk about what their traits brought to the school, and what they needed from others to be successful. We gathered by departments and talked about what traits are strengths and which were missing. We discussed the impact this might have on our work, and on our students. It was interesting to see traits that seemed to be strong in our profession, and which were missing. We got to know ourselves, and we got to know each other.
To live and lead knowing ourselves, is to tap into the person we were created to be. To love others the way we were designed to love, and to do it in ways they were designed to receive is to truly do God’s desire.
..What I love about Jill’s story is that she has long been leading with a lens of not only self knowledge but also the understanding of the importance of knowing her partner and those she leads. I am in awe of how she leads in this way.
I came to the Enneagram just before I lept in faith, and the journey of self discovery, awareness, and embracing of my core strengths has been challenging, freeing, and impactful in my own life. Part of the challenge is seeking out solid resources for understanding my Enneagram number and resisting the urge to pin a label on myself based on the base way we look at any personality inventory. I am an Enneagram 7 with a wing 8. And I bring myself and my unique make up to that combination. Part of the growth for myself in this area recently has been exploring further about my characteristics and what might be impacting relationships with those I love based upon my healthy and unhealthy components.
Friends, my husband took this assessment just last weekend after I have been wanting him to do so for years, and though he may not have bought totally in as a sociologist and researcher, I am confident that the rich discussions we are going to have from this discovery together as a couple is going to be significant. Believe me, after 19 years of loving this man, it would have been very easy for me to pin a number to him, and though I was accurate in my own thinking about what number he would associate with most, I am keenly aware that he brings with him so many positive aspects of the core and wing that has he has identified that I have not yet thought about.
My recommendation for you as a listener and the call to action that I would love for you to do in your own life is to spend time exploring the Enneagram. In Lead with FAITH, I speak more about this assessment, and I provide resources. For my listeners, I wanted to serve you by providing a link to the assessment that I recommend after studying this assessment for a while. It does cost $10, and I make nothing from your investment. This particular resources just gives you a really nice in depth report that gets you started.
The feedback I continue to get from those who have read Lead with FAITH is how much they have appreciated spending time getting to know themselves better through this process and rumbling with the results they examine. It may not be easy, but to lead as our most authentic selves, we must know our most authentic selves. I hope this episode jolts you to consider making space for that knowledge in your own life.
Thanks for joining me on this jolt episode. Be sure to connect with Jill Maras as she is an inspirational, wise, powerful leader. I linked her Twitter handle in the shownotes of this episode.
Join me next week as we dive deeper into the the F in FAITH, and I share with you Lavonna Roth’s perspective on leading with signature strengths.
Blessings friends.
Connect with Jill Maras on Twitter!
Sarah’s recommended Enneagram Assessment: https://www.wepss.com/
Lead with FAITH: Building a Strong Foundation So You Can Rise Up, Slay Fear, and Serve Well
Join Sarah’s mailing list to receive her Five Ways to Slay Fear in 2020: http://bit.ly/SlayFear2020
