Ever think about the fact that all leadership is self-leadership?
Self-leadership is your ability to take charge of your own life and make conscious choices – ones that align with your goals and values. You know it well.
Sounds easy. In theory.
It’s about being the captain of your own ship, steering it in the direction you desire rather than letting external forces dictate your course — and of course, knowing the best course of action if you can’t directly steer in the direction you want.
Make no mistake about it – the thousands of choices we have to face each day – before lunch – is astounding! Every choice aligns or doesn’t. It’s overwhelming at times.
But you hold up. You learn to reframe the obstacles and keep climbing. You learn to laugh at how funny “it” really is.
That’s important because self -leadership is the foundation for all other forms of leadership we build.
There are 5 Pillars I invite you to take a look at:
Self-Awareness: It ALL begins with self-awareness, the deep understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs (limiting or otherwise). It’s looking into a mirror, acknowledging who you are, and embracing ALL of you. Introspection and taking reflective time, is more critical now than ever before. I call it “Time In.” It’s an important tool to help you enhance your self-awareness. Meditation helps a lot here for many people – so does exercise!
Self-Regulation: Once you know yourself, the next step is self-regulation. It’s one of the biggest responsibilities you have as a leader. Other people’s lives are at stake here. This involves managing your emotions, impulses, language, behavior, and “attitude” which in turn impact your energetic field. It’s about staying composed under pressure and being able to make both rational and intuitive decisions, even in challenging situations.
Self-Motivation: Self led leaders are driven by an internal flame, a burning desire to achieve their goals. They don’t rely solely on external rewards or recognition; they find their power and motivation from within. They have tools and practices that work for them, and they support themselves with people who can help if they can’t find the motivation within. This intrinsic drive is a hallmark of effective self-leadership. Internally motivated people are a joy to work with. If you aren’t feeling it right now, see my PS, below.
Self-Confidence: Confidence is the fuel that propels you forward. Believing in your abilities and having faith in your decisions is crucial. Confidence is not about arrogance but about knowing you’re connected to a higher purpose. And, you’re energetically connected to everyone else as well. You know you have what it takes to activate the magic of what you really want to create! You know what it’s going to take to succeed. How’s your self-confidence doing?
Self-Resilience: As good as we might get in creating happiness and other positive emotions at work, life is still filled with setbacks and obstacles, there’s no getting around it. Self-leaders are resilient; they bounce back from failures and learn from their experiences. Resilience is critical in navigating the ups and downs of life. One of my Besties calls this “Riding the Waves of Weirdness.”
I advocate that you change your idea about what resilience is to include “Bouncing Beyondsm. Positive Leaders bounce beyond the negative face of a challenge, bounce beyond the initial shock, bounce beyond by using creative and innovative thinking. Happiness causes the brain to open in such a way that your right hemisphere begins communicating better with your left one causing you to activate the “Broaden and Build” response which makes you 3-5 times more creative! How does it get any better than that?
Why Self-Leadership Matters NOW?
We need effective positive leaders everywhere. We need emotionally intelligent people at every level of leadership – and every level of life. That starts with you and your awareness.
I say “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, from where you are.” The world needs you!
With gratitude,
JoAnna
- If it “sounds easy” and it isn’t, you may want to think about Positive Leadership Coaching with me. I’m happy to invite you to a conversation. https://calendly.com/joannabrandi
Quick question? Just want to book a fabulous “Lunch and Learn” program for your team? Just call. 561-279-0027. These programs are such great gifts to your employees.
A recent attendee commented that the program on happiness made him feel that his company “really cared about him.” He got paid for his time, enjoyed a fabulous dinner with colleagues and got a fun program that was designed to help him – as a person – evolve his own self-leadership 561-279-0027 Call me and ask about “Lunch and Learn” programs (and yes, we can do them at dinner time too
