Lead Yourself!

One of the valuable lessons I've learned in the corporate world was "personal leadership". It's a concept that's well-defined on several books, as well as online articles and blogs, but in a nutshell, personal leadership for me is being able to lead yourself effectively, accurately and positively. If you are reading my blogs, I remember mentioning about being the captain of our own ships, that means taking full control of our lives and leading it to the direction that we want. In essence, that's personal leadership.

I've read several articles online about personal leadership and the one that stood out was from the blog written by Andria Corso published on "Work it Daily" website. She defined personal leadership as "taking responsibility for all aspects of your life and leading it in the direction that is best for you. When you are able to take responsibility for decisions you are making in all areas of your life and you are making those decisions in your own best interest, you are better able to have a positive and inspiring impact on others. You are also able to be a role model for others in the leadership arena."

On the same article/ blog, she mentioned about the 3 factors that impact strong personal leadership skills: mindset, energy and support system. 

Having a positive mindset would give us confidence in making decisions and will attract positive things to happen in your life.

Energy, on the other hand, relates to how we are managing our energy and whether we are taking the time to renew ourselves and do things to nurture ourselves.

A support system is a critical factor as it is essential for us to have a network of people to support us through our decision-making process, these are the people we trust and whom we can bounce ideas off to, vent to, seek advice, and counsel from.

On her website, Kaylene Matthews (an American speaker, coach, and author) talked about the 9 essential personal leadership skills. I'm in the agreement that these are the essentials so if you'll allow me, I would love to also share these with you.

"1. Discipline – Nothing happens without discipline, not even getting out of bed in the morning. You must have [the] discipline to start, to keep going and to finish strong. It’s simply about making yourself do what you need to do, even when you don’t want to do it – which is harder on some days than others.

2. Self-Awareness – Not being self-aware is like walking around with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Everyone sees it but [not] you and they’re all talking about it. Self-awareness helps you to see what others see and allows you to adjust and improve accordingly. It empowers you to put your best self forward in every situation.

3. Gratitude – According to Psychology Today, gratitude has numerous benefits including but not limited to, increased determination, enthusiasm, attention, and energy. It also will make you more optimistic, improve your exercise, and reduce physical ailments AND it helps you sleep better, lowers depression and has an indirect effect on lowering anxiety. The best part about gratitude is that it’s your choice and it costs you nothing.

4. Commitment to Excellence – Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” When we perform to the very best of our ability, we are practicing excellence. It’s not about perfection, it’s about commitment. Showing up every day and giving everything you’ve got.

5. Routines and Rituals – The purpose of routines and rituals for the strong personal leader is to help you build strong habits into your life. Similar to filling your car with gas and getting regular tune-ups and oil changes, routines and rituals keep your leadership running smoothly.[As John Maxwell once said, "you will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."]

6. Patience – To have what you really want in life, to live your life on purpose and with purpose requires a degree of patience. The maturity and wisdom found in patience is the bedrock of your success in life both personally and professionally. Patience, especially for the young and motivated and the old and irritated alike, is a virtue that requires intentional effort.

7. Intentional – You cannot be a strong personal leader without being intentional about everything you do. Being intentional requires thought, planning, reflecting, effort, commitment, and action. Being unintentional in life is like taking your hands off the steering wheel while driving 80 mph down the freeway. You will eventually end up somewhere you never wanted to be.

8. Grit – This is simply digging in, digging deep and pushing through the tough spots in life. It doesn’t tolerate whining or lamenting or grumbling and complaining. It’s just staying the course when you want to give up. It’s realizing that sometimes life is just life and you have to deal with it.

9. Fun-Loving – The opposite of fun is, “not fun,” which equals stress because stress is not fun. It’s elementary really. By logical deduction, if you want less stress in your life you need to be having more fun. Stress kills us a little bit each day. According to Statistics Brain, in the United States, the percentage of people who regularly experience physical symptoms related to stress is 77% and the percentage of people who regularly experience psychological symptoms of stress is 73%. Stress is rampant and its effects are exacting a toll on our mental, emotional, physical and relational health. The cure? HAVE FUN! Strong personal leaders incorporate fun into their lives because it’s important, it’s good for your health and the soul."

There you have it, folks. I hope this blog gave you a deeper context on what personal leadership is, why it's important, the factors affecting it and the 9 personal leadership skills we can have which will impact not just our lives but other people's lives as well. True as most successful leaders say, we should be able to "lead ourselves [first] before going out and attempting to lead others. Being grounded and as clear as possible on your own values, preferences, ways of working and communicating with others and ways of doing things, especially in times of stress and pressure, is a vital first step to becoming an effective leader [in all aspects of our lives]."

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