It’s time to look at leadership from the inside out. I have been privileged to train many leaders at various levels, from CEOs to aspiring ones. All of them possessed more than enough qualities to succeed. There’s no single tactic to successfully engage others. But there is one answer to, “How do I start?” That’s self-leadership.
The power behind empowerment is developing your skills from within.
There’s endless research to show that the two primary reasons leaders malfunction are because of failed relationships and failure to learn.
A self-leader takes responsibility for their actions. They have the ability to influence their own thinking, behaviours and feelings. This person guides themselves in positive ways and achieves personal success.
Just like leadership, self-leadership is a natural progression for some. For others, it will be a learning journey. No matter how we become a leader, it’s important to remember we must lead ourselves before we can effectively lead others.
To be a self-leader, you need to understand the steps involved in reaching that goal. Self-leaders are built from within. They are constantly developing themselves. They work hard for what they want and work even harder to keep it that way.
3 sources of self-leadership:
- Self-awareness: Knowing your intentions. Knowing your values. Being aware of what can keep you from becoming a good leader.
- Self-confidence: Knowing your strengths, as well as your abilities. Taking actions to develop skills to build confidence.
- Self-efficacy: Believing whatever comes your way is something that you can handle.
As a self-leader, I can attest to the significant amount of time and energy to reach success. Once you decide to be a self-leader, act like it. Change your mindset and realize your leadership abilities. Take the actions necessary to fulfill this role. Never be content with where you are. Give your ‘all’ to establish yourself and show others that you deserve your role.
Here are some tips:
- Establish and work on your purpose.
- Focus on what makes you happy.
- Be passionate, brave and optimistic.
- Have a healthy self-belief.
- Be enthusiastic.
Over the next few articles, I’ll continue to examine why self-leadership truly is the first step to becoming an effective leader.
