Derval O'Rourke: 3 important lessons in leadership plus my recipe for midweek noodles
Derval O'Rourke: A successful leader doesn’t make themselves the centre of the narrative, but rather they listen and ask questions that help them, and help others
In general the role of a leader is to coach, guide, and inspire others. Regardless of your life circumstances you will find yourself in leadership roles at various times in your life.
This week I’ve been reading about lessons in leadership from Enda McNulty and I’ll share the lessons that resonated with me. Recipe wise I have a lovely mid week noodles recipe.
My path has crossed with Enda on many occasions through our involvement in sport, mine from a competitive standpoint, and Enda’s from a sports psychology perspective. We’ve drank coffee and chatted on training camps in Japan and Portugal.
Enda’s approach to leadership is interesting. For almost three decades, Enda has been working with some of the most influential members of the business and sporting communities. He has shared these lessons in his new book, Commit 2 Lead!
To me this is such a powerful message. This alludes to the importance of stepping back and taking note of what you are doing, and how this can actually have an impact on those around you. A successful leader doesn’t make themselves the centre of the narrative, but rather they listen and ask questions that help them, and help others.
Having resilience as a leader is an important, and arguably integral, quality to have. However, this becomes obsolete if you don’t foster an environment where others can grow and strengthen their own resilience too. Being a leader is not necessarily about being the greatest person on a team, but being someone that your teammates, colleagues or community can turn to in moments of need or emergency. Even if you feel that you are not the most resilient person, remember you can develop this.
If, as a leader, you have encouraged a workplace setting founded on competition, ego, and fear, this can lead to situations where you can lose trust and belief from your team. An environment where people are too afraid to speak up, deliver bad news or go against the grain is a failure of the leader, not the people. A great leader is able to set their own ego aside and allow people to communicate potentially disappointing news without fear of retaliation.
Being a leader in your community is a way for you to positively impact the world around you. I really enjoyed Enda’s invaluable lessons from exceptional leaders, his new book is well worth reading.
Try not to use your phone for an hour before you go to sleep. Try reading a book, or writing in a journal.
While you’re cooking the dinner, take a moment to stretch. A few stretches are so good at the end of a long day!
Midweek noodles
A staple recipe in my home, these noodles are: healthy, tasty and quick to prepare
Servings
2Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
MainIngredients
1 tbsp oil (whatever oil you have at home)
1 packet of stir-fry vegetable mix (1 handful of stir fry veg of your choice, I suggest carrots, peppers, courgettes and spring onion)
2 tsp garlic (2 tsp of garlic cloves minced)
2 tsp crushed ginger
3 tbsp dark soy
1 packet of straight to wok rice noodles
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds, to garnish
Method
Heat the walnut oil in the pan; add the vegetables and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger and soy sauce and continue to cook until the vegetables are slightly softened.
Add in the noodles and cook until heated through, roughly 2-3 minutes.
Squeeze over the lime juice and drizzle with sesame oil, toss well to combine.
Serve sprinkled with some lightly toasted sesame seeds and enjoy.
