Scotty Bevill and Christopher Avery present The Chaos of Leadership (and The Leadership of Chaos)

Awareness. Intention. Integration. Confront. Contribution. These five words make up the foundation of my leadership study.

Earlier this year, Christopher and Scotty shared a stage for the first time and spent time talking about these words and the concepts behind them.

It was one of the most powerful presentations I’ve ever witnessed. Since being put online, I have re-watched it a dozen times, each time finding a new nugget of brilliance that I toss around my head for the next week.

Christopher and Scotty share the stage with five words: Intention, Integration, Awareness, Contribution, Confront

After a few weeks, I began reflecting on my journey and looking at how many times these words swirled around my world, sometimes playing together.

At the beginning I saw this journey as a linear one, progressing through the different concepts and models one by one – mastering them as I went along and checking off that box.

It didn’t take me long to realize that this is a journey where I am never “done” learning.

The further into this journey I go, the harder it seems to get. The denial I face is no longer about a problem such as losing my keys. It is denial about a character trait I possess – one that scares me to face because I may not like who I see.

I wrote last week about how this responsibility stuff isn’t always easy, but it is always rewarding.

Over the past few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that for me there is a sixth word – alignment. For me alignment is the most powerful position I can be in.

There are different forms of alignment. For instance, when I am aligned with my company, I share the same vision and find that I am more empowered, enthusiastic, and productive.

Alignment with another person is when we both share reality. Communication is heightening, explanation is minimal, and the power that we both have only magnifies between the two of us.

Recently, I felt the extraordinary power of being aligned across my entire life.

I left a day-long session of working with teams and was on a high. I could barley keep from skipping down the road. I looked at Scotty and said, “There is nothing I am more confident doing or would rather do than that (referring to the day’s activities).”

Some find inner peace, inspiration, and alignment through meditation or religion – I found mine by never settling for “good enough.”

I tried the religious route at a time I thought I wanted a career in human resources. Though I loved the community environment a church brought every Sunday, I still wasn’t aligned with what I was meant to be.

My calling, the thing I was meant to be and do I found during the last 43 weeks mastering personal responsibility. This mastery has raised my awareness of where I am mentally.

After integrating mastery throughout my entire life and even in my family, it has helped me reach a confidence level to confront when a situation or job is out of alignment.

Today I want what I have and have what I want. I am aware and excited again that I have so much more to learn. My journey is in alignment with who I am meant to be – the excitement in my chest and the goosebumps on my arm only reinforce this belief.

My intention continues to be to share this power through raised awareness with anyone who will listen. I believe everyone deserves to unleash the power they possess when in alignment.

Jessica Soroky, CSM

Only 21 years old, Jessica is already a Certified Scrum Master with two years of practice in agile delivery and team leadership. She is also the youngest participant in The Leadership Gift™ Program and its growing worldwide community of leaders and coaches. After five years of non-profit development through Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids, Jessica continues her leadership journey in state government, not-for-profit, and private sector leadership studies.

Attention CXO’s and supporting partners — Do you seek exceptional solutions for leadership development and culture-shaping for ultra-hi performance, engagement, and innovation? See Partnerwerks approach to sustainable change with measurable results enterprise-wide.