S03 E02: Discernment Is a Leadership Skill

Discernment is often treated like a feeling. In leadership, it’s not.

In this episode, Tabitha J reframes discernment as a discipline—one that directly impacts how you make decisions, manage environments, and respond to what’s in front of you.

If you’ve ever found yourself reacting too quickly, overcommitting, or navigating situations you later realized you didn’t need to be in… this episode will shift how you approach it.

Thanks for listening to Poised for Purpose with Tabitha J.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hey everybody, happy Monday. Welcome back to Poise for Purpose. I'm your host, Tabitha J, the voice of strategy and purpose. So, this season we're talking about wisdom. And you know, today we're gonna continue that by getting into something that sits at the core of how leaders actually operate. Disernment. Yeah. Disernment, we tend to describe that often as a feeling, you know, a vibe. But in leadership, it's not just a feeling, it's more of a responsibility. Because when you're responsible for outcomes and decisions and giving direction, you don't get to just rely on the vibe of something feels off, right? You gotta be able to read people and pay attention to patterns and you know know those environments, and then you make decisions with intention. So showing up in real time, right? You gotta know that not everything requires a conversation, you know. As far as what discernment looks like in leadership, you don't have to call a meeting for every single thing, and everything doesn't deserve your immediate response. That's the important piece right there, because some situations require observation first. Because strong leaders don't just react to every single thing that's presented to them, they pay attention to certain things, they look at the consistencies, they pay attention to what's repeated, um, what's avoided, and then also they pay attention to the shifts in the circumstance. That right there, that's what we look at as information. You know, we take all of that in. One of the most important skills that you can actually develop as a leader is the ability, watch this, the ability to separate noises from an actual signal. Yeah, because everything will come at you with you know urgency, the right now of it all and high energy, right? But that doesn't mean that every bit of it is relevant. When you have discernment, you have to allow yourself to ask what matters right now, what really matters, and then out of all of this chaos, are there some distractions in it? Then you have to think about what actually requires your involvement and your attention. Those questions that will save you time, it'll save your energy, and then of course, any unnecessary engagement. When you misread a situation as a leader, that costs you something. And you know, whether it be you engaging too quickly, trusting something or someone too early, or like I mentioned before, just responding before you fully assess things. And once you move prematurely, you often have to spend time correcting something that could have been simply avoided with pause at first. I often tend to say, if you don't have time to do it right, you've got time to do it over. Because this is the thing, discernment creates the space that you need between the attention of what you see and the importance of how you respond. That space right there, that's that leadership. You know, that's where that good leadership lives, you know, those characteristics. So, speaking of that, I want to just give you something that you can use. When you assess a situation, again, ask yourself, what am I seeing as far as patterns? Not just once, not just happenstance, but consistently. Here's one that's really big absence, what's not being said, because the absence of some details that can be some information too. And then, once again, what is my role in all of this? Do I actually need to engage in this? Or just observe and watch how things are falling into place. Because part of discernment is knowing when your involvement is actually required, it shapes how you show up, you know. Discernment affects when you speak, when you move, and when you stay still. Because when you move without total understanding, again, that can take you back to the unnecessary work. But when you move with intention, that tends to build a space of trust, stability, and it puts a little bit of weight on your presence. So, with all that being said, I'd like to summarize it with leaving you just this little statement. Strong leaders don't just listen, they lean into perception, they pay attention to what's happening beneath the surface, and they move accordingly. So the next time you're in that situation or the next time you're being approached, let that leadership characteristic allow you to take some time to fully observe and then engage. Best of luck on your next situation. I know you'll handle it well. So if something in this episode, if it stood out to you, feel free to screenshoot it, send it to a friend, or you can tag me at the tab of the gym, let me know your vibe and let me know what you think about it. I love hearing those things that actually, you know, relate to you and what helps you. So, until next time, stay poised, stay purposeful, and always let it be powerful. I'll see you in the next episode.