Begin with Personal Leadership

Before we as leaders begin with inspirational and interpersonal Leadership, we need to begin with Personal Leadership.

Oliver Wendell Holmes quoted “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” And therefore, we should begin by working on ourselves and then lead others.

What does it take to develop personal leadership?

We all as leaders want to be known for something – our achievements, our values and beliefs, our characteristics. And to develop personal leadership, we need to be first aware of that “something”. List out what you want people to remember you for and what kind of a leader you want to be. When that is clear, plan steps to work towards achieving that.

Everything is created twice – first in our mind and then in reality. Reflect and think – did you imagine or dream about owning a particular car? That is the first creation we are talking about. Today, if you have that car or are going to buy the same, then that’s the second creation – the reality. And this holds true for everything.

Personal leadership is also created twice – first in our mind and then in reality. Create a picture of how you want to be as a leader, how you want others to remember you as a leader. That’s the mental creation – the end in mind. And then, plan the steps on what you should do to be that leader. The day you achieve it, that’s your physical creation – the reality.

And the essence of developing personal leadership is that there shouldn’t be any dissonance in those two creations. If a gap exists, then you haven’t worked right on yourself.

Personal leadership begins with introspection and being self-aware. It takes equal effort to lead ourselves when compared to leading others. Developing personal leadership will help us to inspire others and guide our interpersonal leadership.

Before looking ahead and behind, look within and then take the lead.