Self-care, now self-leadership. Do I have to do everything myself? I don’t even know what these things are. Maybe they are just the latest fad.
Whether these things are the latest fad or not they are worth investigating. Find out what self-leadership is. Can you lead others if you aren’t able to lead yourself?
Do you have the characteristics of a leader? Maybe you should check:
- Good communication skills
- Self-aware
- Gratitude
- Life-long learning & learning agility
- Influential
- Empathic
- Courageous
- Respectful
(https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/characteristics-good-leader/)
Of course, these aren’t all the characteristics, qualities, or skills a leader might need. But, they are a good start. How many of these apply to you & how many can be applied to self-leadership?
What does self-leadership mean?
“ Self-Leadership is the practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling and actions towards your objective/s” (Bryant and Kazan 2012, Self Leadership – How to Become a More Effective, and Efficient Leader from the Inside Out). ” (https://www.selfleadership.com/what-is-self-leadership)
Objectives: what are your objectives? We’ve seen information lately on principles, values, & goals; the term objectives hasn’t been used recently. Think of objectives as your goals; what you want to achieve, where you want to go.
Personal development, in my opinion, is the basis for self-leadership & for any leader. Do a self-assessment, on your own or with a coach if you feel you need a bit of help. Have you determined what you want from life, set your values, & align your goals with your values? If you haven’t heard of Emotional Intelligence, you might want to investigate it as I believe it is extremely important for a leader, formal leader, informal leader, or self-leader.
If you haven’t increased your self-awareness this is another area to investigate. Not only will it help you personally, but it will also help you interact with others, whether as a leader, a follower, or a partner in a relationship, or any relationship. Along with self-awareness, emotional intelligence, learn how to communicate – in conversations, presentations, or in writing. These are skills everyone needs, but even more so as a leader. Develop your personal qualities & you will be well on the way to self-leadership & leading others.
What wasn’t mentioned in the above qualities or characteristics is self-care. Self-care is imperative for a leader & for self-leadership. Remember self-care involves more than a spa day. Self-care involves taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual needs. You need to be able to set an example in this area. I’m happy to help if you need a bit of guidance in any of these areas – send me a message & we can chat