Leading from Within is Soul Work

A focus on leading oneself is an essential and ever-present dimension of leadership. It helps us be more effective in our current leadership roles and helps ensure that we keep learning and growing, both as leaders and as human beings.

What do I mean by leading oneself? Here’s how I have come to understand it, after decades of work with leaders around the world:

Leading myself is the work I do in and with myself to achieve my goals, to live what is most deeply true for me, and to do the work that is mine to do. It is rooted in my taking responsibility for what I do, why I do it, and how I do it. It leads to making ever more conscious choices about my what, why, and how over time – and to increasingly skillful action.

A relationship, conversation, and way of being

Leading ourselves is not something we do once and then set aside, like the workshop we take whose impact fades over time.

It’s an ever-deepening relationship with our innermost self in which leadership becomes a crucible for growth and giving.

It’s a living conversation between who we are and who we are called to be, in service to that which matters most to us.

It’s a way of being and a set of practices, from which come clarity of purpose, depth of understanding, strength of will, and the courage to live from our growing edge.

The inner landscape of leadership

Leading ourselves can be challenging, of course. Finding time for self-reflection can be tough and the work of self-development can be hard, even when it’s exciting. Consciously coming to know and lead ourselves more skillfully will take us into parts of ourselves that are unknown, challenge familiar habits, uproot deeply held assumptions, and stretch us to develop new capabilities.

Learning to live with discomfort and grace, while honing discernment, is part of the process.

This means that leading ourselves is soul work. While it strengthens how we lead today, it sows the seeds for our contribution tomorrow. It connects the work we do professionally with the great work taking place in the world at large, including the work done consciously by others everywhere. It opens us to a higher intelligence, a greater love, and the forces allied with them.

This is the inner landscape for leadership today.

This article first appeared on www.tomandsarahurley.com.

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