Self leadership (I)

THE beginning point of great leadership is self-leadership. Self-Leadership is the ability to lead, regulate, conduct and review your life with minimal supervision to empower you for maximum effectiveness. Self-leadership involves self-control – the ability to regulate your thoughts and actions to achieve your goals.

“A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.” Proverbs 25.28 Message.

A leader must be able to lead himself before he can lead people effectively. The more successful you are in self-leadership, the more effective you become in leading people.

“Self-leadership is the practice of influencing ourselves to achieve our goals. It begins with self-awareness and extends to developing habits like self-management, self-regulation, and self-discipline. Simply put, self-leadership is about leading ourselves before we can lead others. Knowing ourselves helps us make better decisions.” imd.org

“Developing self-leadership requires you to become more aware of the thoughts in your mind and then turn them into positive, productive beliefs. That requires a lot of introspection and a much deeper understanding of yourself. Write down your daily routine and most recognizable habits. Why do you do those things? Why are they important to you? What do you gain from taking those actions? Are your habits leading you toward the life you want or just toward the limited life you believe you deserve? What do you really believe you deserve, and why? Get honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Try to understand the ways in which you hold yourself back and why you do so. Practice self-compassion to love yourself as you are while pushing yourself to make positive changes. The more you understand yourself and the goals you want to achieve, the better you will get at leading yourself to success.” Sean McPheat

The ability to lead yourself is the foundation of enduring leadership and this involves:

1. Ability to motivate yourself to do what ought to be done.

“Self-motivation is an essential life skill. Without it, it is impossible to accomplish anything. In the context of intelligent leadership, self-motivation stems from genuine interest and passion. It is the fuel that ignites most other leadership skills, lending the leader the urge to continuously improve, evolve, and embrace change.

If you have a genuine passion for something, you will find it easier to motivate yourself to go through various chores related to your passion. Mastery of something, be that a hobby or an enterprise that may earn you a living, allows you to get lost in your passion.

You are self-motivated when you love your life’s work. When you feel excited about something, you give yourself a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

When your self-motivation ebbs, your position as an effective leader weakens. The process of deterioration is a gradual one. You may not feel its adverse effects right away, but never underestimate its power to sideline you and turn you into a burnt-out shell of your former, motivated self.” John Mattone

TO BE CONCLUDED.

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SELF LEADERSHIP Part 2

Last time, we began looking at the issue of self-leadership.

We said the beginning point of great leadership is self-leadership. Self-Leadership is the ability to lead, regulate, conduct and review your life with minimal supervision to empower you for maximum effectiveness. Self-leadership involves self-control – the ability to regulate your thoughts and actions to achieve your goals.

 “A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.” Proverbs 25.28 Message.

The ability to lead yourself is the foundation of enduring leadership and this involves:

1. Ability to motivate yourself to do what ought to be done.
2. Ability to keep going even when the going gets tough.

“Perseverance refers to our ability to pursue a goal or passion over time, and stick with it if we encounter obstacles or setbacks. It is closely related to a range of other concepts, including resilience, motivation, drive, determination, grit, passion, and conscientiousness.

Various studies have shown that perseverance is an essential quality for success in life. It often tops aptitude and raw talent and is a more accurate predictor of achievement.

 

Our ability to stick with our tasks, goals, and passions is vital. Persevering entails effort and practice. It also involves our ability to learn from failure and try again when thrown off our horses until we get thrown off no more.”  Anna Katharina Schaffner

3. Doing what is right without being told or reminded.
4. Keeping to rules you set as a leader.
5. Correcting yourself promptly.

“Self-correction makes me check the ruler of my life against the yardstick of my inner voice. I acknowledge when I don’t measure up. Self-correction is an ongoing process. If done often enough, I can stop myself from straying off the path.” Stella Payton

“Correction is the tool for creating better from worse. Make the best use of it!” Israelmore Ayivoh

6. Ability to keep time and meet deadlines/ targets.

“Self-discipline is the ability to control our impulses and stick to our commitments. It’s about doing what needs to be done, even when we don’t feel like it.

Good time management goes hand-in-hand with self-discipline. By setting priorities, creating schedules, and establishing boundaries, you can make the most of your time and avoid distractions.

Practical tip: Use a planner or app to organize your tasks. Prioritize what’s most important and schedule time blocks for focused work. This practice will improve both your productivity and your well-being.” imd.org

7. Developing yourself so you get better per time in your leadership operations.

“Self-improvement is not a change that occurs overnight, but one that can take months or even years. It is important to prioritize your life in order for self-improvement to occur. Self-improvement helps enhance strengths, improve mental health, and even heal relationships. Some ways of self-improvement include simple tasks such as reading a book, trying something new, mediating, or even waking up early. There are so many simple, effective ways to start a self-improvement process.

Leaders should focus on self-improvement the same way followers should. Self-improvement is important for a leader so they can evolve in their leadership development and continue to develop skills across a range of areas that help build a stronger culture. When leaders begin to focus on self-improvement, this also helps with contributing a clear vision for the team. The ideas behind self-improvement differentiate a good leader versus a great one.” Anne Tracey

8. Modelling the right values and virtues that the team needs to succeed.

CONCLUDED.

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