Self-Leadership

Amna Faryad recently posted an article on this subject of self-leadership. She defined it as “all about guiding yourself effectively through life” …involving understanding and nurturing eight important qualities she called the 8 C’s. She believes that “. These qualities help you manage your thoughts, actions, and emotions in a way that aligns with your true self.” They are worth summarizing here for your consideration.

Calmness is the first characteristic she identifies. It requires us to “be at peace and staying grounded, no matter what happens around you.” First-responders do this, I believe, the best. Crises may be swirling around them but somehow, they are able to remain calm and deal with the issues before them. Training is a major part of this, being prepared for almost anything they might encounter.

How does this apply to leadership? Experience is a great teacher for also dealing with the conditions around. Perhaps the greatest of these is failure. Leaders are not afraid to fail because they know it is not always fatal and can be a great teaching tool if they are open to it.

Curiosity is next. Being open to things, without restraints that limit you. Being curious, you ask great questions to learn the TRUTH. You explore the directions revealed. From a leadership position, curiosity reveals opportunities that you may not see if you remain on the main path. It is also the foundation of learning, discovering new ideas and things that you use to move forward when other things are taken away.

Clarity is all about seeing things as they truly are, without screens or preconceptions. It requires us to set things aside, look at things differently, and see things as they truly are. Leaders have focus, another term for clarity. They can block out other things that get in the way of what they are trying to accomplish.

Compassion is generally not a term associated with leadership but an understanding of kindness and showing it in different situations is an essential way of getting things accomplished through others. As Amna reminds us “compassion is about understanding, empathy, and a desire to help. It’s a powerful tool that can transform our relationships and our leadership abilities.”

Confidence is clearly a trait we associate with leadership. We follow people who show self-trust and abilities in what they do. It helps us to face obstacles and challenges we encounter through knowing that we can overcome them.

Creativity is an obvious trait of leadership, finding ways of accomplishing things with the resources you have and when others have failed. It is a willingness to try things, to take different approaches, and see things from a fresh perspective.

Courage is another trait you expect of a leader. Facing fears and overcoming them is a key attribute of leadership. When you are able to move forward and try things you know that you are a leader that can also challenge others to do their best.

Connectedness recognizes the abilities, talents and contributions of others and how they can be used for the greater good in accomplishing objectives. It can also mean being totally “dialed” into the tasks at hand and what it will take to be successful.

Each recognizes a valuable trait that we must understand to fully develop and exercise our leadership. Leadership can be very difficult to understand and establish. This understanding of self is a valuable checklist to evaluate how well we are accomplishing our tasks of leadership.