Lead Yourself First!

A while back, I published a great post on the subject from Randy Hall (Self-Leadership: The Toughest Kind). His insights were so masterful and to the point! I do recommend you head over there and read them.

As part of my commitment to the LeadChange Group, I am preparing a members-only webinar on Leading Youself, so I thought I might share some of my musings here with you as a sneak preview of sorts. As Randy noted in his article, great leaders are already leading themselves when they gain a position of power to inspire others. It is at the heart of sound leadership to be willing to challenge yourself as you wish to challenge others.

So what would the first steps be to draw closer to being a wonderful leader of yourself?

Understand. No doubt you need to know yourself well to be able to lead. Self-understanding is key! More specifically, knowing what makes you tick and what you are afraid of. Recognizing your own humanity and accepting it fully. If something can get in the way of being the best leader you can possibly be it is your own rigidities and defensive behaviors. See yourself as a living, breathing work in progress. Never lose the wonder of discovering your own heart. It is more than just knowing who you are and what you stand for, it is understanding why you are and how you are being. Without this, you may achieve great things, but not your full potential or that of the people around you.

Stretch. I truly admire people who are always willing to try new things. To stretch that envelope a bit. To move bravely into their fears. Make sure you are always doing something that’s a bit scary and edgy for you. Outside your comfort zone. Leading yourself means venturing into new aspects of life.  The learning opportunities are great! Think experience instead of just results. Strive to do well, but even more to become stronger as you stretch. Flexibility is a leader’s best asset!

Embrace Imperfection. Especially in yourself! It is important that you value your achievements and your way of being. That you are proud of yourself and celebrate your milestones. Yet, beware: the moment you believe you are perfect, you begin to lose your self-leadership. You place yourself beyond any risk-taking when you believe you know it all, have it all or that your experience is the only “right way”. Nothing better to keep you from being a great leader than becoming so set in your ways that you cannot lead yourself anywhere else!

Observe. Leading yourself is being mindful of your effect on the world and its effect on you. Make it a point to pay attention to what surrounds you. Lead yourself into being a better witness of what goes on as a consequence of your actions. Open your eyes, your ears, your heart to your relationship to the surrounding people, places, things and to how you are reacting to them, adapting, moving. Leading yourself means also remembering you are a part of the whole!

Want to explore more? Leave your comments below, or…

Join us on LeadChange Group and sign up for the members only area as soon as it is up. My webinar will kick off the members-only series there on July 27th, then you will get great webinars each month for a whole year!

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