Course 4. Foundational Leadership Principles: (Discussion #3) Lead Yourself
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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:
1. Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
2. Please reply to 3 of your peers in this thread!
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@Heather225
1. Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
Being pro-active.
I will try to plan what I will do the next day every night.
@lovelyParadise7651
Sounds like a good plan lovely, I think I would find planning the night before useful too =)
@lovelyParadise7651
Having a plan for the day could be quiet useful and can be a motivating factor too 
thank you for sharing this
1. Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
One of the main differences I found between the person whose leadership I admire and myself is confidence in one's decisions and actions. The leader I admire always seems to fully believe in his ideas and decisions and this in turn means that team members feel confident in the ideas too, and are willing to do what it takes to make it happen. I have a habit of second guessing myself or sounding unsure, which can affect other people negatively and lead to a lack of confidence.
In order to improve this I will set myself clear deadlines for making decisions. Before the deadline has passed I will be free to explore other ideas but after I have made my decision that's it, I will have done as much as I can to make the right decision and should therefore have confidence in it.
@Gozzil
It's really interesting that this leader is able to project confidence and hence motivate everyone to fully commit his the plan too. Checking and analysing to make sure you're on the right track is a good move, Gozzil, but it's true that if you do this in fron tof your team it can cause them to lose confidence. Good job for identifying this and thank you for sharing
@Heather225
Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
Area: Setting expectations: I find myself aiming for high expectations sometimes, planning for near perfection goals.
Resolution: I’ll try to be more satisfied with the best results I achieved so far and learn to accept my limitations and struggles. I will also practice gratitude more and effectively.
@Anexmos
It's true that setting expectations near perfection can be unhealthy as we'll usually be unsatisfied with our progress, even if we were able to do a lot. Learning to be happy with what we've been able to do is a great way to work on this
Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
I think I need to work on accountability. Sometimes life gets stressful, and I tend to put off tasks and responsibilities unless I absolutely have to finish them, which is frustrating for everyone involved. I absolutely need to learn to handle my triggers better, and learn to get up and push through even though it's really difficult. I can't control my circumstances, but I can control how I respond to them, and I can learn to be more accountable for my responsibilities even in the midst of a bad situation.
To improve, I will write down the things I have to do and set time frames to do them. Then, if I can't find the motivation to do them, I will simply sit at my desk and work on them for five minutes, until I slowly start to build momentum and can get the work done. While I am able to, I will do more work than I am supposed, such that when I really need to, I can take a short break without disrupting everyone else's progress.
@hopebeyondpain Very well planned! Great insights, reminds me to Stoicism and the Two Minute Rule :D thank you for sharing! I wish you all the best!
@hopebeyondpain
I really liked reading your response and can relate to it!Thank you for sharing your steps and I wish you the best
@hopebeyondpain this is very inspiring! You can do it. It's pushing past the denial and distraction stage ♡ You've got this
@hopebeyondpain Great answer! All the best :) <3
Self-boundaries. Often times, I didn't realize if I was already going to burnout. I should be more aware of the burnout signs and immediately taking a self-care break.
I will be more carefully set my schedule and stick to it. I should know that my time is up and stop doing what I was doing. Remind myself that I have other responsibilities which need my attentions as well.
I do the same. I’m often not aware I’m experincing burn out till it’s too late. But self care is so important ❤️ @Chevy81
@Chevy81
I loved the fact about the self boundary. Keep it up. ❤
1. Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
I’m not sure I understand this question 100%. But one thing I need to improve on is I can be an over-achiever and a person who has a hard time saying no. I tend to take on too much at one time, which often leads me to feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. It’s sometimes a bit of a bad cycle. If I say no to something I feel bad, so then I end up saying yes, and then I realize I took on too much, then get frustrated at myself and repeat! So I really need to work on realizing I can’t do everything, and that it’s okay!
@blitheEmbrace27 I have the problem on saying no when I need to too. Maybe we could improve ourselves by creating strong boundaries and practising self care.
To preface this post—I tend to be very harsh on myself, and it is one of my self-love endeavors to abate that bad habit. :)
I would rate myself at a 6/10. I believe that I still have a lot of progress to make before I reach the level of those who inspire me—not that I should necessarily be comparing myself to others at all time. I am on my own path, as we all are, and comparisons aren’t necessarily the healthiest thing. The key qualities that I would love to see myself flourish with are: self-confidence, charisma, and to a certain extent, focus. I am working on my self-confidence—by making the habit of complimenting and encouraging myself rather than putting myself down. I am also increasing my self-confidence by seizing opportunities rather than letting them pass me buy then feeling bad that I chose to be passive.
@Dinohorus
Love your answer. It's well put! You've all the reasons to lead the way and show the way . You can do it. Be your own leader ♡
@Dinohorus
Wonderful post! great points were made, keep up the awesome work!
@Heather225
Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
I believean area I would have to improve is my Time Management.
I often tend to work until exhaustion, and then need a lot of recovery time; so I suppose, if I were to be more specific, I`d say I should improving the way I balance and deal with workload, in order to achieve my goals, whilst keeping myself stable and focusing on self-care as well.
Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
One thing I have to improve is to focus on things that matters to me the most rather than trying to excel at everything all at once and putting too much pressure on myself.
I could do this by prioritizing tasks and focusing on my main goal at the mean time try to develop additional skills, there by I can make sure I'm not overworking and is enjoying the things I do
@DreamTouch Enjoying our works sounds like a good idea. Thanks for sharing!
@DreamTouch
Its a struggle we all face at one point or another, thank you for your answer, I can tell that came from deep reflection ♥️
1. Share one area where you scored low on your self-awareness check-in and one thing you will do to improve?
I need to work out my trust issues where it's hard for me to depend on others even though it's someone I always talk to and be with. Therefore, I'll try to make amends with myself and try to let being alive from having doubts and worries.
@kdsyahirah
Ahhh yes that's very difficult for many people, A great and honest answer though, thank you for sharing!🙂