Is personal leadership a thing?
Yes. Yes, it is.
If you’ve ever set an alarm, you’re leading yourself. So not a weird thing after all, right?
Why figure out personal leadership? Because when you know how to lead yourself, you can lead others more effectively. You’ll be a leader that others will want to follow. How many of us can say that we worked for someone that had no clue what the people around them were feeling or thinking? Pre-covid, 57 percent of people considered quitting because of their boss. Post-covid? 82 percent. Now more than ever, the world needs good leaders, and it really does start with you.
Personal leadership begins with three decisions or foundations you need to make. Three things you’ll need to remind yourself every morning because they’re not easy decisions to make and maintain.
“I will be honest with myself.” It’s so easy to lie to yourself. (I’ll just hit this snooze one more time. I’ll put money in my savings next month/year. I’ll just pass this project on to my staff. No one will notice if I don’t contribute to the all staff gift. I really need this new car, iPad, etc.) You are the one person who can convince yourself of literally anything through perception, justification, or delusion. It’s easy. It’s human. You have to be honest with yourself to know when you need to work on changing in some way. Which will in turn change how people see you — someone growing towards excellence and worth following.
“I will know my values and live them over what is immediate.” If you value family but spend all of your time furthering your career (because you have convinced yourself that it’s about having a lot of money and prestige to support your family), you may find that your children grow up to be the same — and not spend time with you (there’s a song about that, right?). We often realize too late that our impulsive decisions sideline our values. And then the I wishes hit. Determine what matters to you: family, honesty, loyalty, integrity … whatever they are. Pick the three top values and measure your life against them. Do your decisions and actions reflect them? If not, it may be time to evaluate what changes you may need to make.
“I will not lead by myself.” Who do you spend the most time with? People who share your values or who share what you like to do? Surrounding yourself with people who are good at personal leadership and spend time understanding how they are motivated and how to improve themselves are the colleagues you want around you. Care in deciding what friends get your time isn’t just important for teenagers. It’s critical for you, too. You need someone willing to say, “Hey, isn’t honesty one of your top values? Is what you’re doing something you think really fits in your life?”
Are you worth following? Even as a role model? Take some time to examine things you are convincing yourself, what your values are, and who you spend most of your time. You might find you are already in a good place, but what if you’re not? Set aside some time to evaluate what kind of personal leadership you might need — even an hour will make a difference…
… to you and those around you.
