Course 2, Discussion 2: Lead by example
Great Leadership, unsurprisingly, starts with yourself!
Practice what you preach. Lead by example. I am sure all of you heard these phrases. But why are they so iconic?
Because the journey starts with the first step and you are the person who is taking the initiative to lead -- Start a journey! So, you are the one who needs to take the first step before expecting others to do it.
To start with leading yourself, close your eyes and visualize two people: someone who inspired and encouraged you to be like them, and someone who discouraged you to be not like them.
Then, write down the good qualities of the person who inspired you as well as the qualities of the second person. You do not have to be specific with the details. Just a bulleted list.
Now, compare the list to yourself. Note the good qualities you have, the bad qualities you have, and give yourself a rating on a scale of 1-10. What we just did is identified your strengths and weaknesses and what you need in order to lead yourself. This allows you to create self-awareness.
Self-awareness is key to leading yourself in the right direction. But, leading yourself is not easy. Just being self-aware isn't enough. It's igniting the spark but not enough to catch the fire. To catch the fire, you need to be persistent with your practice, which is regular reflection. Be consistent with monitoring your efforts and holding yourself accountable.
You can't effectively lead others until you know how to lead yourself. That happens through Self-Observant Leadership: when you deeply understand your identity, compare it to your reputation (how others experience you) and then make meaning of the observations, and choose to adapt.
Exercise:
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
✒️ Respond to one of your peers in this thread
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@Hope
Through this exercise, I realized how much my actions are influenced by the people I admire and those I don't. I found that the person who inspired me had qualities like empathy, resilience, and integrity, which I also see in myself. However, I also noticed some traits from the person who discouraged me, such as impatience and a tendency to be overly critical. This self-reflection helped me see my strengths more clearly and identify areas where I need to improve. By being aware of these aspects, I can work on becoming a better leader and stay committed to self-improvement.
@wishfulForest1871 I am glad you have realised more on your weaknesses and your strengths are so good for being a leader. Well done! I'm glad you are committed to self-improvement and I am sure your work will lead to help 7cups.
What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I learnt that although I have some of the traits I like showing empathy and kindness and showing warmth to people that in high-stress positions I tend to get more bossy and more controlling sometimes more than I think I could be which is like the person I do not want to be. I think that it is important I become more self-aware of what I am doing during these times and to recognise the competence in my team rather than trying to project my own actions. As from someone who has been a member under that I know that it isn't the best for other people.
Hope this makes sense. :)
@Ivebutterfly
That's amazing
Thank you
@Hope
I realized my strengths include empathy and motivation, like the person who inspired me. This reflection helps me see where I can grow and improve as a leader.
@Damonchandio
That's great! I'm glad you realized this.
@Hope
I learned about myself that I am an effective leader because I support my team a lot and I attend meetings with knowledge. Furthermore, I don’t take credit and issue blame to others.
@hirai111 am glad you were able to recognise your strength, those are great strength you have! 💙
@Hope
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I was able to focus more on my weakness hopefully i will be able to improve myself soon , i learned that sometimes you gotta be the reflection for what you want others to be
@Noor511
Indeed actions speak louder than words!
@Hope
As a kid, I often engaged in self-reflection, to better understand myself before my peers and elders. There have been times I've often debated between certain morals and values instilled in me and how good or bad I am according to those set standards. As I grew older my focus shifted to view it in a more mature light of the unique strengths and weakness I possess, and how to strengthen the former while learning and developing from the latter. Doing this exercise alongwith the source provided, helped me raise an internal awareness of myself as well as gain clarity on the to do and not to do elements impacting effective leadership.
@Alambo905 It's wonderful that you recognized this as a kid! I don't think I was very self aware as a child but I do know there were some behaviors that scared me and others that made me feel safe.
@Hope
What I learned about myself is that I'm inspired to be like people who are respectful, driven, and compassionate. While on the other side, I am not inspired by people that are ego-driven, power hungry, and vindictive.
I believe being aware of our strengths and weaknesses helps us grow as individuals. In order to reach enlightenment, we need to be self aware.
@LittleEggHarbor
those are some very good points you made there! I agree with you :)
@LittleEggHarbor I love this your so self aware of yourself !
@Hope What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
When reflecting on myself, to also take note of the good qualities and not just the bad ones. A good balance is better
@CaringCompanion22
balance is key! I hope this program is going well for you.
@Hope
I learned that to be the best person and leader for others you have to get your own priorities right first. It could be fixing your mental health, emotional maturity, or anything that would benefit yourself. If you don't have these things then you can't help others effetely.
@twerp
Very well put Twerp!😃🌟
@Hope
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I learned about my strengths and weaknesses through this exercise and it helped me to clearly set my goals to work on leading myself because it is important for us to be able to lead ourselves before leading others.
And this persistence approaches toward these goals would help me to lead effectively with keeping in mind the ‘Things to Do’ as a leader.
