When it comes to leadership, it is easy to not only be critical of those who are in leadership positions over us, but to also feel that we are powerless to create change until we reach a certain level of leadership within an organization.  In reality, we don’t have to wait until we are in a position of leadership; we already are – and the most important person we lead is ourselves.

Self-leadership is the key to creating the influence and change we all desire.  As we lead ourselves, we recognize it is the actions we own that end up having the most profound change; not only in our lives, but also in the lives of those around us.

Self-leadership is taking responsibility for our actions and holding ourselves accountable for our progress.  Self-leadership is creating goals and conducting the required planning to meet those goals.  Self-leadership is strengthening and developing ourselves spiritually, morally, and physically.

What does self-leadership look like, and how do we do it?

–First: Treat yourself like a child.  Think about the areas in which we work to develop children; such as sports, the classroom, or at home.  View yourself through the same lens.  Think about the areas in which you need to grow.

–Second: Act.  Set intentional, achievable goals in each of area of your life that needs growth.  For example, if you recognize that your physical growth has been lacking, you can commit to spending three days per week working to achieve a physical goal.  This goal could be running a 5k, lifting one-third of your body weight, or losing a few pounds.

-Third: De-brief.  Just like a performance review at work, take the time to evaluate yourself weekly on your progress.  How could you have done better?  What worked, what didn’t work?  The de-brief is where the learning happens.  Here we learn from our mistakes and most importantly, reward ourselves for our progress.

You are the most important person you will ever lead.  Take the time to learn how to lead yourself. The reward will be partly in a new-found self-respect, and in the part you play as an interconnected member of your community.  Consider self-leadership as a service rendered for the benefit of us all – use the leadership strengths already inherent in you to lead yourself – and as always, let me know how it goes!