Leadership From The Inside Out: How To Tap The Power Of Self-Leadership
In June 2021, McKinsey published findings from research carried out to define the skills that will be needed in the future world of work.
The research identified 56 foundational skills that will help citizens thrive in the future of work. These 56 foundational skills, referred to as “distinct elements of talent,” or “DELTAs,” are separated into four broad skill categories, one of which is self-leadership (the others are cognitive, digital and interpersonal).
In their 2012 book, Self-Leadership: How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out, Andrew Bryant and Ana Kazan defined self-leadership as “the practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling and actions towards your objectives.” Charles C. Manz coined the term “self-leadership” some 30 years earlier, defining it as a “comprehensive self-influence perspective that concerns leading oneself towards the performance of naturally motivating tasks as well as managing oneself to do work that must be done but is not naturally motivating.”
Bryant and Kazan and Manz’s definitions have similar elements, which are very important. Both definitions lay a strong emphasis on self-influence having an implication on performance objectives. This brings to bear the fact that achieving results may be more self-influenced than we think. Manz went further to shed insight into the important connection between self-leadership and authentic, effective leadership of a team. Research even shows that self-leading employees tend to be more productive.
The importance of self-leadership cannot be overemphasized. Developing strong self-leadership skills will transform an individual from mediocre to excellent, reflecting in the rate of accomplishing professional goals and leadership skills to others. A good leader leads by example, and the best place to lead is to first demonstrate a level of excellence and commitment to growth and outcome, reflected in personal results.
Self-leadership does not only help with professional growth but also transforms one’s personal life and outlook for achieving one’s personal goals.
According to an article published on Indeed, the “benefits of self-leadership include:
1. Makes you more efficient and productive
2. Keeps you motivated and accountable
3. Builds stronger relationships with co-workers
4. Inspires others to follow your lead”
But what makes self-leadership so important to professional success?
Self-leadership is predicated on values and knowledge that can be transferred to any area of life—values like discipline, dedication, motivation, strong will, responsibility and so on.
The majority of conversations surrounding self-leadership are with organizational leadership in mind, which is very important because it is most often directed to rooms full of leaders. But it is also important to look at self-leadership as a driver for personal growth.
Positive psychology and self-leadership expert Dr. Maike Neuhaus identified eight competencies and skills that effective self-leadership draws on. I’d like to explore each in turn.
1. Self-Awareness And Knowledge
A strong sense of self is important in the journey to effective self-leadership; knowing yourself intimately puts you in a good position to make knowledgeable decisions. To develop self-awareness and knowledge, a good place to start is to spend time with yourself, understand your personal values, take personality tests periodically and ask for feedback from those around you who you work and live with (friends and family).
2. Identifying Desired Experiences
Still taking a page from self-awareness and knowledge, a high sense of self-awareness helps you to identify experiences that you enjoy and that have a positive impact on you and your work. Apart from continuing the experiences you enjoy and laying hold of and reading research, working on experiences that align with your values and benefit your growth will help you identify experiences that will benefit your self-leadership trajectory.
3. Constructive Thought And Decision-Making
In my article “Strategies For Preventing Emotional Hijack At Work,” I discussed a phenomenon popularly known as amygdala hijack that can hijack our decision-making process. It is important that we rationally stay on top of our decision-making process by carefully thinking things through before making decisions. There are several ways to achieve this, one of which I shared in my earlier article. Another way of achieving this is to recognize patterns that hinder constructive thinking and create suitable environments to forestall identified patterns when important decisions need to be made.
4. Planning And Goal-Setting
A popular quote says that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. In attaining self-leadership, it is critical to have a plan and work toward achieving it. This plan guides our actions and helps us break down our actions/activities into smaller tasks that will add up to achieving this. It is also very helpful to have targeted milestones toward achieving these goals as this helps with aligning your actions.
5. Optimizing Motivation
Motivation drives you toward achieving your already highlighted goals and milestones. Planning and goal-setting make it easier to effectively harness the power of motivation. Motivation can be induced when there is self-awareness.
6. Harnessing The Ecosystem
Your environment has an effect on your output. For effective self-leadership, it is beneficial to be in environments that support your growth (in whatever area). Your environment comprises the physical environment and the people in the environment, as well. If you find yourself in an environment that is not conducive to your growth and development, you can transform the environment—more specifically, the people—by adopting a coaching mindset.
7. Amplifying Performance
Neuhaus noted three techniques to amplify performance:
• High-performance planning, which allows you to set goals within a specific time frame and review the actions at the end of the timeline.
• Self-coaching
• Functional visualization
8. Embracing Failure And Cultivating Grit
In 2014, Angela Duckworth and James J. Gross defined grit as a combination of passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Failure is inevitable, and sometimes plans and strategies will not go as planned, making it increasingly important to develop systems to deal with failure and disappointments whenever you experience them. Do you end the journey at this point, find another route to reach your destination or trudge on along the same route?
Grit is what would help in these situations. With grit it becomes possible to move over hurdles without giving up. The seven competencies discussed above work together to inspire grit.
Final Thoughts
These eight cognitive and behavioral traits, in combination with the McKinsey DELTAs, can guide leaders and employees alike on what competencies to develop to become assets to their organizations.
In conclusion, in the future world of work, people who have developed strong self-leadership skills are likely to thrive and be more successful both personally and professionally.
Article link-https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/08/09/leadership-from-the-inside-out-how-to-tap-the-power-of-self-leadership/?sh=1bce94c02d9b