The Leader in You......

Why we feel stuck, obstructed and imprisoned in our own mind although the world around us keeps moving? Why all of a sudden we lose interest when we are at the peak of being our best? Why we feel small when everywhere we look at is reflecting our growth? This oxymoronic state of feeling one thing while moving mainstream arises out of the challenges we face during our life time. In order to satisfy everyone around us, we forget to voice the concerns of the leader within.... Just to follow the flow we sometimes overlook that we all have everything that we need in order to be the Leader that we want to be. We don't tell ourselves as often as needed that " I am enough" "The effort I put in is apt" "The leader within me is my trusted companion"

I firmly believe that since you are born: everything you have said, done, learn or unlearn and thought of in your life has prepared you to be the leader that you are today. Embrace that, Accept that and treat Fear as the first step in your journey. To me Self-Leadership is the foundation stone that surfaces your ideals and motivations and refines your behavior to pave your mindset. I always assess myself on these five lines whenever I am feeling shy or want to avoid responsibly. These steps have always helped me come out of my cocoon and rise to the occasion.

BUILD YOUR MINDSET:

The first step to be the leader you want to be is to build your mindset. Building your mindset ensures that you are communicating and thinking as a leader. Once you embrace your inner leader, yo not only motivate and inspire followers but you are better equip to deal with leadership challenges. This perspective prepares you to lead through change and innovation.

TRUST YOURSELF:

The second step to free the leader within you is to trust yourself. Unfortunately the trust that we give to ourselves is bare minimum. Even the slightest of event shakes our trust towards ourselves. We need constant appreciation, acknowledgement and approvals to accept that we are doing good. It is quite sad that the respect we have for our own selves is dependent on external factors that are never in our control. So minimize the external factors and Strat relying on yourself. It does not mean that you become Self-Critical as its an unhealthy practice as well. Try to replace Self-criticism with Self-Review or Self Analysis. Focus on hoe you feel when you review and reassess your steps and move forward.

UNDERSTAND YOUR MOTIVATIONS:

The third step is to understand your motivations. Analyzing your strengths and weaknesses will help you lay out an action plan. Assess what are the "push" and "pulls" or think whether the role is something innate to you or thrust upon you. The best way to do is to make a list of "What are the reasons pulling you to be a leader?"and "What are the reasons pushing you to be a leader?" In my experience, chances are you are hiding your inner leader owing to a combination of reasons, most of which come from within you. In some cases, you also might not like the reasons but if you understand the driving force motivating you, it can help you decide how to bring out your inner leader and excel in harmony with yourself.

CONTROL YOURSELF

The fourth step is to control yourself or draw a line when your obsessive style tries to come out. It is important that while you are assessing yourself try to control the obsessive need to lead. If you always compelled to take the lead, it can indicate that you are ambitious person when an opportunity arises. However, it's not always a good thing because it makes you take on responsibilities before you are ready.

In other instances, you might face the opposite: as such you have no wish to lead and no inclination to stand out. In such a case, it's not a good stance because when the responsibility gets thrusted on you, you panic and get bullied into being a poor manager. In such a scenario, people have control over you and can influence you into making poor decisions.

KNOW YOURSELF

The fifth step towards bringing out your inner leader is to know yourself. Understanding who you are is the first step in being able to lead others. Interestingly some people have no desire to acknowledge or understand that why they become angry, jealous impatient, fearful or scared. the issue is if you don't understand yourself, you are also risk misjudging others. You jump to conclusions fast, you make faulty impractical decisions and you are too harsh about other''s weaknesses.

MAKE AN ACTION PLAN

The last step is to put all the above knowledge and realization into an action plan. It does not mean that you share your weaknesses openly. It just means that you have to be honest with yourself and accept your personality as it is. It is a realization that you characteristic leadership style is a mix of useful and unhelpful patterns. So observe yourself with an open mind, undergo coaching or go through DISC behavioral tests. Figure out what you want to improve and how and then start working towards that.

And then Answer some questions?

1. What I usually fail?
2. Why I think I usually fail?
3. When I fail, how do I usually respond?
4. How do I behave when I am stressed or upset?
5. What makes me jealous and why?
6. How do I treat others when I am in a good mood?
7. How do I treat others when I am in a bad mood?
8. What One habit or behavior should I change?

In short, The Leader in you is someone you know more than anyone else. He is the one that has faced challenges with you, helped you analyze yourself and is an integral part of who you are. Give it the respect, love and acknowledgement that it deserves. Go easy on Self-Criticism. Trust that it knows and that it has grown with you. Don't overlook.... you are born with all the resources that you need.

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