Leadership starts with you – our 2 step framework to implement NOW
To lead others, you must first lead yourself – John Maxwell
Sound familiar?
Famous words that are commonly thrown around and yet not frequently embodied… let’s break this down further:
A common theme I have observed is that people often find themselves in leadership positions because they are great at their job. Only to find themselves now doing an entirely different job, managing and leading others.
My first question for them is always, ‘well, what makes a great leader in your eyes?’
The results vary and at their core often tend to come back to two simple themes:
- They are well respected
- They are approachable and supportive
Solid answers.
Now let’s link this back to our famous statement, “to lead others you must first lead yourself”. Let’s take this same angle and approach the above:
To be well respected, you must first respect yourself well.
To be approachable and supportive, you must first be approachable and supportive towards self.
This equals that. Seems simple enough. Makes sense though, right?
Think about the people that you hold in the highest regard, the ones that you respect more than anyone else. Do they respect themselves? Do they hold firm boundaries so as to uphold their self imposed standards? Do they communicate effectively and efficiently so that they are heard clear and well? Do they look after themselves from a physical and emotional stand point so as to have the energy and attention span to focus and be present with you or whatever environment they find themselves in?
I’m going to warrant your answers were a big fat yes to the above.
adds ‘brainstorm daily non-negotiables’ to calendar ????✅
That one is the easy one. Let’s move on to the second.
To be approachable and supportive, you must first be approachable and supportive to self.
What the heck does that mean? How do you become approachable with self? Aren’t you with yourself all the time?
Well, thats a great question… are you?
Being approachable with self is the ability to sit with self and be present. With anything and everything that comes up. If you find yourself running away from internal conflict, chances are you are dodging it externally too.
If you’re shying away from celebrating yourself, chances are – you’re avoiding celebrating others. So, how do you become more approachable – and more present – with self?
Journalling is a great place to start.
*cue sighs of disappointment*
Hang in there with me here… journalling doesn’t have to be a big yahoo and it certainly doesn’t have to be a ‘dear diary…’ moment either. If you’re new to the game, I suggest you pick up a blank notebook and every evening before you nod off to sleep, you ask yourself three simple questions and jot down your initial thoughts:
“what went well today?”
“what can I improve on/what did I learn?”
“what’s my intention for tomorrow?”
Gratitude. Reflection. Intentionality.
All through the lens of improvement and compassion for self.
No failures. Only feedback. Now THAT is supportive of self, all while setting in some solid foundations of self honesty and responsibility.
Good leaders preach, great leaders teach. The BEST leaders teach unconsciously, through modelling behaviour in a way that influences and impacts without having to say a single word.
Leadership truly does start with you.
It starts with the way in which you lead yourself, your own behaviours and most importantly, your own mind.
You get to generate a safe, supportive environment for your team to thrive and you can bet your bottom dollar that that stems from a safe, supportive environment that you have generated for yourself first.
So in order to become a better leader – start with leading yourself with more intentionality.
Clock your behaviours. Observe, delete, add and refine as necessary. Be honest, do your daily habits inspire you?
Check in with your headspace on a daily basis. Use our three magic questions and get used to being your own coach. Have compassion, yet be brutally honest.
Bottom line is this, as a leader – when you know better, it’s on you to do better.
No more waiting around for feedback, time to find it for yourself.
The best leaders do ????????
#mindfluencer
