Omer, Kabbalah, and Leadership - Weeks One & Two

About 300 - 400 years ago, the Kabbalists added a new dimension to the period of the Omer - the 49 day period between the 2nd night of Passover and Shavuot. They matched each day to one of the 49 aspects of personality, derived from the interaction of the lower 7 sefirot. (Check out this article from My Jewish Learning for a good explanation more deeply into the sefirot.) 

As I was counting the Omer on yom tov, an idea came to me: each week holds a leadership lens. So I’m sharing a weekly leadership lesson rooted in that week’s sefirah.

Since we’re already in week two, I’m starting with two: Chesed (Kindness) and Gevurah (Discipline) - a classic pairing. Too much of one becomes imbalance; together, they create grounded, humane leadership.

Chesed Leadership Lesson - Creating Systemic Kindness

Kind leadership isn’t only about how people are treated one-on-one. It’s also about creating an organization that is systemically kind. 

Let’s consider one example -  group meetings. They shape how people feel, participate, and show up.

Build kindness into the meeting: 

• Prevent exclusion in real time

  • “I want to go back to what Sarah was saying.”

  • “We haven’t heard from Adam yet.”

• Normalize not-knowing

  • Belonging grows where people don’t feel embarrassed to ask basic questions.

• Recognize the good

  • Find opportunities for meaningful praise, something specific that shows the person (and everyone) what matters 

    
    

Gevurah Leadership Lesson - Restraint, Not Impulse

When reacting, a leader needs to consider what is needed from me, as the leader, at this moment. Exercising restraint and taking time to be deliberate in a response can be the key to a healthier organization.

Tips for practicing restraint: 

• Insert a beat

  • Even 3 seconds changes tone, body language or spoken language.

• Delay the hard email

  • Write it. Wait. Revisit later.

• Choose setting intentionally

  • Public correction vs. private conversation.