In my role as a coach, I often ask managers “What’s it like to be led by you?”
It’s a simple question, encouraging the manager to place themselves in the position of their team members and hopefully generates reflection and so deeper self-awareness.
How we “lead” ourselves daily is as important. Do we recognise the value and impact of personal leadership, how this can shape our daily interactions, influencing the way we navigate the world and the environment we create around us?
Personal leadership encourages us to reflect on our impact, understand our values, strengths and areas for growth and inspire and motivate others through the way we collaborate and navigate relationships.
Focusing on our personal leadership enables all of us to step into a space that isn’t related to role or position. When we take the initiative to resolve an issue instead of waiting for direction, using our personal leadership feels empowering and can encourage us to step outside of our comfort zones, learn and grow. We are role-modelling when we do this.
We can embrace our personal leadership in any conversation we have with people - “every contact leaves a trace” a previous line manager used to say, repurposing a principle of forensics to remind us of the impact we all have on those around us. That has stayed with me, and I try to live that, even when it results in random chats with people about juvenile seagull welfare on The Parade!
Are you conscious of the influence you have on the people around you and how that can inspire and motivate others by the way you collaborate and manage relationships? Attending a meeting with the intention of wanting to create a positive experience, where people feel safe to contribute, increases the likelihood of better outcomes and results. And not just in terms of the problems solved but also in the way social learning happens, and people feel motivated to engage.
So how will you focus on your personal leadership this week? What opportunities are there for you to set an intention about putting this into action?
Bringing conscious attention to our personal leadership and how we enact that is the first step in developing our leadership voice – inspired by Brené Brown’s words - “Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead”.
Debra Parsons, Learning & Organisational Development Manager
Footnote:
Brown, B., Dare to Lead, Vermilion, London, 2018.
Respond