CEO of Yourself
Posted on October 29, 2012 by Daniel Doucette, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Even the best leaders are human, therefore an intentional strategy to lead your Self each day is a key ingredient for truly effective leadership.
It’s really true that ‘Leadership’ and ‘Self’ are all intertwined, isn’t it? Some days, we wake up and we aren’t feeling our best physically, or we have a lot going on personally, or whatever else…. We don’t feel much like a leader and we don’t have much energy for putting out a strong leadership vibe today. Our ‘Self’ just isn’t with it.
At the same time we realize we have that big meeting to run, or we need to convince some people to support a particular initiative—so right now is NOT the time to feel under-inspired in our leading. Thus arises the now almost cliche concept of ‘Use of Self’. How will we intentionally manage our responses today, moment by moment, in order to convey a presence that has an impact? What do we do that helps us attain the focus and attitude needed to lead effectively on these days when we just would rather not?!
If we are aware this is happening, that’s a great start, but what then? Meditate? Exercise? Tell a friend, “Boy, I have to shake this off”? Take a personal day to re-group? Postpone the critical meeting we have? Or do we just recognize and appreciate our internal misgivings about exerting leadership today, but then push through it, going through the motions? If so, is pushing through and going through the motions risky if our heart’s just not in what we are doing as a leader?
I suspect too often we are indeed just going through the motions when exercising our leadership. After all, it’s easier not to fuss over whether we’re at our best. It’s comfortable to sit and answer dozens of emails in a linear and somewhat mindless manner. “Check”, got that done! But to analyze, moment by moment, what the situation calls for in our leadership and to then respond accordingly and thoughtfully, well, that can be downright daunting!
In this sense ‘Leadership’ and ‘Self’ are all intertwined, really. And we must first, each day, lead that Self of ours out into the day. Moment by moment we decide to lead or follow or just sit back and observe. In those leading moments we could intentionally bring forward all our experiences and judgment to be as effective as we can be—rather than practicing knee-jerk leadership. This is all sure hard to sustain, but the best leaders instinctively know this to be true.
So, have your cup of coffee or tea and imagine you as the ‘CEO of Yourself.’ What is your strategy and how will you know you are successful? Then, honestly just do your best.
Lead.
