It Starts with you: Lead yourself first

At Pro-Development we strongly believe that employee engagement and a happy productive workforce is supported by great leadership and that begins with an important factor - leading yourself. If we lead ourselves well, we will inspire and guide others. If we think about it, how can we expect to inspire trust, confidence, or motivation in our teams if we’re not walking the talk ourselves? When we lead ourselves well, by sticking to our values, holding ourselves accountable and managing our behaviours, it sets the standard for those around us.

So, what does it mean to lead yourself? Well, think of it like this, before you can help others climb their mountains, you’ve got to make sure your own climbing gear is in top shape.  Leading self is about self-awareness, discipline, behaviours, knowing your own strengths and development areas and aligning yourself to your own values.

Here are some ideas to consider how well you are leading yourself:-

Self-Awareness

• Understand your emotions, recognise your feelings and their impact on your decisions and other people.
• Reflect regularly by taking time to think about your actions and reactions.
• How well do you communicate with others?  Take time to listen to understand.
• Ask for feedback from others, get their perspectives to gain insights into your behaviour.

Self-discipline

• Set clear goals, define what you want to achieve and break it down into manageable steps.
• Establish routines and create daily habits that support your objectives.
• Stay committed, hold yourself accountable to follow through on commitments, even when motivation is low.

Behaviours

• Monitor reactions, be aware of how you respond to different situations and adjust accordingly.
• Practice positive habits, focus on actions that contribute to your goals and overall well-being.
• Adaptability, be open to change and willing to modify your behaviours for growth.
• Above the line thinking, adopt a proactive mindset, taking responsibility for your thoughts and actions, rather than falling into blame or excuses.

Knowing your strengths and development areas

• Identify your strengths and recognise what you do best and leverage those skills.
• Acknowledge development areas, be honest about where you need improvement and set development goals.
• Continuous learning, seek opportunities for growth through training, coaching, and experience.

Aligning yourself to your own values

• Clarify your values and identify what matters most to you and use it as a guide.
• Make value-based decisions to help ensure your choices reflect your core beliefs and principles.
• Live authentically by aligning your actions and behaviours with your values for greater fulfilment and integrity.
• If you are interested in clarifying values, make sure to read Joanne’s blog later this month as she will be exploring the importance of our values and why they matter.

When you lead yourself effectively, you create a ripple effect. People notice, they feel it, and they’ll want to follow your example. Your actions inspire others to do the same, to be more self-disciplined, take responsibility, and lead themselves too. It’s a positive cycle that elevates the entire team, building trust and collaboration. So, the better you lead you, the better your team will follow.  Scarily, imagine the impact of the opposite to this!

If you are interested in the contents of this blog, why not contact us about one of our Inspiring Leaders Programmes, The Art of Self Leadership. In this programme we will cover the essential ingredients for developing and identifying strategies to build resilience and self-leadership. Contact us for more information, we would love to hear from you.