Leading the Self Before Others
This section on Inner Leadership explains the importance of successful self-leadership as a pre-requisite for good leadership. It contains articles and resources relating to the subject of personal leadership.
When talking about leadership, most will focus on the how-tos of leadership; How to lead a team; how to influence others; how to make others follow you. There is an external focus on leadership with the hidden assumption that leadership is directed outwards.
While that is true, real leadership happens when you first lead yourself through discipline and focus. In fact, inner leadership is far more key to becoming a great leader than the how-tos.
Before you think that you should be leading others, are you leading yourself?
- If you aspire to be a millionaire businessman, do you manage your $1,000 well?
- If you aspire to lead a team of talented individuals, do you lead your family well?
- If you want to teach your team to be disciplined, are you disciplined yourself?
The principle of leadership is this: Before you decide to lead others, learn to lead yourself well.
The whole idea of leadership is that you’re up front, where everyone can see what you’re doing, where you’re going and then follow your lead. Your life becomes an example for others to follow.
But for most people, it’s really easier to stand on the sidelines and shout commands and instructions. That way, no credibility is risked. This is where most leaders fail.
You simply cannot expect from people what you don’t expect from yourself.
If people see that you do not practice what you’ve been preaching, you lose a lot of credibility and the trust of your team. In fact, this is where most leaders fall short. They’re simply unable to personally do what they want the whole team to do.
In this section, I will talk about several essential qualities you require as a leader and how you can develop each quality to become a truly influential, credible and authentic leader.
If you wish to learn more about self-leadership and develop yourself as one, you may also purchase my book Everyday Leadership here.
Articles on Inner Leadership
On Character
The most important ingredient in leadership: integrity
Integrity is the most important ingredient in leadership. Having it is the make-or-break for any leader. Understand the importance of integrity and also how you can develop yourself to be a man of integrity.
On Mental Attitudes
Looking on the bright side on life:Optimism
As a leader, you should be an optimistic person. An optimistic person will naturally seek to see the good in the future, and bring the team to create positive change together.
Have a great attitude!
Attitude is everything. The saying goes that your attitude determines your altitude. How you perceive and interpret events in your life will determine how far in life you will go.
On Vision
Vision: Having a direction in your life
Having a personal vision in your life means everything in leadership. As a leader, you must not only consider the organizational vision, but also the vision of each and every member of your team.
Articulating your vision: Pointing the way for your team
I have shared in other sections about the importance of having a vision, but it’s really one thing to have a vision, but another thing to articulate it well. Understand how you can articulate a vision in this section effectively, so that your team will catch it and run with the vision.
Learning to put first things first
Learning to prioritize your life will aid you a lot in your leadership journey where you decide what activities add value to your organization and what does not.