You Are A Leader

You are leader. Seriously, you are.

I’ve heard a lot of people say they would never want to serve in a leadership position at their company, their church, or where ever they are involved. When I have those conversations, I always enjoy breaking the news to the them that they are leader where they like it or not. Everyone is a leader because everyone is responsible for at least one person. You currently have at least one person in your charge, under your care, and you are ultimately responsible for. That person is you. Leadership is about influencing people and I have good news, you are a “people!” Even if you don’t lead others, you lead yourself.

Good leaders focus on three things: making their people feel safe, giving them opportunity for growth, and ensuring they have everything they need to accomplish their goals. Even if you have never had a leader like this in your personal or professional life, there is no reason you can’t start leading yourself in these three ways starting today.

Give yourself permission to fail. Whether you are trying to become a better mom, better CEO, better athlete, …etc, its important that you give yourself permission to fail. I hate to break it you but, you’re not perfect. You’re going to fail. It can feel crushing when you do but don’t be too hard on yourself. Make yourself feel safe from your own expectations. This looks different for every person so spend some time alone and figure out what this will look like for you.

Read books, take a class, and have mentors. Like I said above, you’re not perfect. There is always room for improvement regardless of your position or life circumstance. Make sure you spending at least one hour per day learning, refining a skill, or meeting with mentor. Becoming a lifelong learner is an important step in leading yourself well.

I’d be willing to bet you that at some point in your life you’ve set a goal but didn’t give yourself the tools to accomplish it. Maybe you set a goal to lose weight but never gave yourself access to a gym. Maybe you wanted a promotion but never went back to school to make sure you had all the qualifications…You get the point. If you want to lead yourself well, you need to give yourself the tools you need to be productive. Perhaps that means working a gym membership into your monthly budget. Maybe its time to go back to school to finish your degree. Its your responsibility to remove roadblocks that get in your way. Give yourself whatever you need to be successful.

Make yourself feel safe, have a growth mindset, and give yourself whatever you need to be successful. Post in the comments below helpful tips on how you lead yourself.