Leadership Begins with Self Leadership

One of my first few articles written was on leadership and crisis as well as humanity in leadership. Those 2 articles were written in 2 different phases of the Covid-19 crisis lockdown where I shared my thoughts of how leaders can manage an unprecedented crisis and what do people truly look for in today’s leaders.

In today's piece, I share my observation on leadership and self leadership. Are they the same thing or are they different? How does self leadership contribute to leadership as a whole?

Since the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic (that has now led to a worldwide crisis), greater pressure is placed on leaders across all walks of life to businesses (existing, startup or already shut its door) to nations around the globe.

Everyday we read disappointing news about businesses not coping well and that people are being laid off.

Everyday, we see people finding various alternatives to make ends meet.

Everyday we see global leaders making announcements or having press conference giving updates of what's next for the people, the direction the country is going, the ‘promises’ they make for the ‘betterment’ of the people, etc, etc, etc.

Everyday business leaders are weighing the possibilities of whether some parts of their businesses arm should cease to sustain others - is it now or later; what are their corporate responsibilities towards the welfare of their employees, among others. 

Everyday parents are making all sorts of adjustments to accommodate working hours and care giving to their children. For some, care giving to elderly parents are to be included, too.

Everyday, we see working class people adapting to the new normal of working in/out of the office.

This goes to show EVERYDAY, EVERYONE is self-leading themselves regardless. EVERYDAY, EVERYONE is making all sorts of decisions; whether it is for self or others.

One of the important traits of being a leader is the ability to make decision - effective decision. On prima face, decision making should be in the ‘best interest of the people’. But because every individual is unique, best interest for M may not best interest for K. So what do leaders do? Leaders will decide for the majority. But during crisis, how do leaders know who will represent the majority? (I shall leave this to your discretion and disposition.)

 A decision made by a leader who demonstrate great human values would have most people willing to respect the decision regardless, because they understand the rationale behind it. However, if a decision is made by a leader who lacks compassion, puts self-interest at the front & lacking kindness in the speech, this decision is possibly going to leave many people feeling uneasy & dissatisfied and/or in some cases, utter frustration or annoyance.

To lead is to first lead ourselves. Leadership calls for self-leadership, which is observing and managing oneself. Being able to take responsibility, being flexible with our emotions and being empathetic are amongst the few traits of self-leadership. (There are other traits of self-leadership which are equally important if you read on the various articles there is on this topic but for this article I am picking the few associated one.)

Being able to take responsibility

It is vital that leaders take accountability for his or her actions and speech. “Practice what you preach” – a rather familiar idiom. It simply means behave as you would have others behave. Being a leader is not getting away with acts which the rules forbid the people to.

Words that are spoken by leaders hold great impact on the people. Words spoken by leaders can be interpreted in ways that could sometimes cause more harm than lifting the spirit of the people. 

Therefore, it is imperative that leaders speak with kindness and act with compassion plus integrity.

Being flexible with our emotions

Leaders are human beings just like everyone. The responsibilities assumed through the role they take is what sets them apart from others. So as human beings, leaders have emotions and it is also quite possibly that their actions may sometimes be influenced by those emotions under certain circumstances. But being leaders, awareness of their feelings is crucial in that they understand what they are feeling and to shift the emotion to serve them.

This will allow them to be able to maintain composure, subsequently discharging duties accordingly that will create confidence among the people. Perhaps, we can associate this as a concoction of Mindfulness and Awareness.

This too, relates to parent-leadership. Parents may sometimes be unaware of their emotion and how they are affecting the people around them in particular their children. We may think that children may not be able to rationalize like an adult but children can easily be influenced by the words and act of their parents. This in turn will impact on their growing years.

Being empathetic

Leaders who are able to demonstrate authentic empathy in dealings with situations or people will usually win the people's heart. They build confidence. Compassion and empathy are 2 different traits but are equally important. In period of the unknown times, these 2 traits are much sought after by the people of the leaders.

And ..

As an individual, it takes great strengths to lead oneself bracing the effect that befalls. It is easy to feel lost in the current times, but self-leadership shows us ways to develop ourselves and brace ourselves in this uncertainty. Believe that our self-worthiness, our skills, capabilities, experience will take us somewhere with relentless learning. Noises around us can amplify, but our focus will always help us adjust our lens to the right direction that promotes growth. Trust that our greatness will bring us one step forward with patience.

With the impact from the pandemic worsening all aspects of life, it becomes more vital that leaders of today are those who put great emphasis in human values, understanding and accepting diversity, acknowledging that they are dealing with humans and not material objects. Being able to lead with compassion builds trust.

“Let's begin leading ourself for our betterment & begin leading others through the lens of the people.”