Self-Leadership: A 3-Step Process for Any (and Every) Leader to Follow

1. Listen

I could probably fill this whole website with a discussion and examples of what I mean by self-leadership, and an hour was definitely not enough time yesterday.

Fundamentally there was one phrase that I think is the perfect entry-point for any of us to approach this topic of leadership, and it’s this,

Listen beyond the words…

Since the topic is self-leadership then I think it's appropriate to ask that of ourselves and to wonder at what more there is, or there might be, to be heard when we pay attention. 

2. Listen Deeply

If it's a given, as I proposed in that session yesterday, that there is a spark of something inside each of us, something before conscious thought, the joyful toddler or the 'wise aunt' (as one of my clients calls it), that doesn't need an 'on' switch because it's always on, then perhaps our main job is to tune in to what is there to be heard beneath the noise.

By noise I mean those assumptions, expectations, forward trains of thought, imagined consequences, standards we hold ourselves to, ideas we make up about ourselves... my own version of which I shared yesterday and examples of which come up in all our conversations on these calls and in coaching conversations.

3. Listen Even More Deeply

If, beneath that noise there is an unsuppressible whisper, then self-leadership is, at it's heart, listening to yourself and not being discouraged by things that may not be as true as you think they are when you take a closer look.

The next call in this series will take us outward, to the idea of 'influencing' others; to examine what's really going on, and where are our leverage points when it comes to working with others.

More on that next time…

Much love,

Cathy