Be your own leader to start influencing others!

Why is leading yourself well so important? Because there is a lot riding on it. God has given each of us things to do. I want to complete them during my brief time here on earth, don’t you? And I don’t want to fail because I wasn’t willing to put in the hard work when no one else was looking.

Keys To Leading Yourself

If that is your goal, there are things you can do to improve your self-leadership. Here are four. I have tried to practice them as much as i can using my vision board as a path to be a good leader:

1. Learn Followership

Only a leader who has followed well knows how to lead others well. Good leadership requires an understanding of the world that followers live in. Connecting with others becomes possible because you have walked in their shoes. You know what it means to be under authority and thus have a better sense of how authority should be exercised.

In contrast, leaders who have never followed well or submitted to authority tend to be prideful, unrealistic, rigid and autocratic. If we desire to make an impact, we must first learn to follow under the authority of others.

Leading yourself starts by having a strong desire and continues by keeping yourself teachable. This is maintained by having a good character.

2. Develop Self-Discipline

It’s said that one day, Frederick the Great of Prussia was walking on the outskirts of Berlin when he encountered a very old man walking ramrod-straight in the opposite direction.

“Who are you?” Frederick asked his subject.

“I am a king,” replied the old man.

“A king!” laughed Frederick. “Over what kingdom do you reign?”

“Over myself,” was the proud old man’s reply.

Each of us is a “monarch” over our own lives. We are responsible for ruling our actions and decisions. To make consistently good decisions, to take the right action at the right time, and to refrain from the wrong actions requires character and self-discipline. To do otherwise is to lose control of ourselves, to do or say things we regret, to miss opportunities we are given, and to spend ourselves in debt.

When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves. This begins when we do what we should, no matter how we feel about it.

3. Practice Patience

Leaders are often impatient people. The leaders I know look ahead, think ahead, and want to move ahead. This can be good; being one step ahead makes you a leader. However, impatience can also lead to trouble. Some of my greatest leadership gaffes have come because I tried to take a shortcut instead of respecting the leadership process.

Few worthwhile things in life come quickly. There is no such thing as instant greatness or instant maturity. We are used to instant oatmeal and instant, but becoming a leader doesn’t happen overnight. Microwave leaders don’t have any staying power. Leadership is more of a Crock-Pot proposition. It takes time, but the end product is worth the wait.

4. Seek Accountability

Few things are more disheartening or harmful than seeing leaders fail in their trust because of an ethical failure. People who lead themselves well know a secret: they cannot trust themselves. Good leaders know that power can be seductive, and they understand their own fallibility. To deny it is to put yourself in danger.

Over the years, I’ve read about many leaders who failed ethically in their leadership. Can you guess what they had in common? They all thought it could never happen to them. They had a false sense of security.

This was a sobering realization for me, and it led me to make two commitments. First, I will not trust myself. Second, I will become accountable to others.

Accountability isn’t just the willingness to explain your actions to others. It begins long before we act. It starts with seeking and accepting advice from others. Most wrong actions come about because people are not held accountable early enough.

How well do you take advice? Ask five to ten friends, colleagues and family members to evaluate you according to this scale:

• You don’t want advice.
• You don’t object to advice.
• You welcome advice.
• You actively seek advice.
• You often follow the advice given to you.

Average your scores. If your average is below a 4, you need to improve in this area. Begin enlisting others in your information-gathering process before you make decisions. If you are married, begin with your spouse.

Your character will be the most visible sign of your leadership ability. This is the first thing that people will look at before they decide on hearing out your vision and following you. It is important to build a respectable character with integrity.

Your credentials will say a lot about your level of expertise but your integrity will be the basis of who you are as a person. Make sure to do the right thing even if it is difficult at times. Side with what is right even if the majority is on the opposite side. Be honest even when no one’s looking. By building your integrity you ensure that your self-influence is strong.

Developing these personal leadership skills will prepare you for the next step: Mastering the cycle of growth.

The next step is to start developing the leader within you. Apply the cycle of growth in your everyday life until you feel comfortable with repeating it.

It includes the following stages:

Vision- Envision a future where you have achieved success in a specific field. Remember that this vision should include your ultimate desired results and the means through which you intend to achieve it.

Setting Goals - Set goals that are specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound.

Developing a Plan - Develop your plan of action and have alternative plans in case your first plan does not work.

Executing the Plan - Execute your plan of action accordingly. Do not be discouraged if you need to digress. Instead, learn from it and revise your plans.

Seeking Wisdom - Seek wisdom in every stage that you go through because you will benefit from it when it is time to repeat the cycle of growth.

Repeat the cycle of growth until you have mastered it. After gaining a full understanding of it, it is time to get started on the influencing process. First, you have to learn everything in the field that you chose. Remember that there is no end to learning, so be humble to accept lessons from everyone. Second, you need to develop competence and deliver positive results through consistent performance.

Leading yourself well means that you hold yourself to a higher standard of accountability than others do. Why? Because God holds you responsible not only for your own actions, but also for those of the people you lead. Leadership is a trust, not a right. For that reason, you must “fix” yourself earlier than others may be required to.

The bottom line is that the smallest crowd you will ever lead is you, but it’s the most important one. If you do that well, then you will earn the right to lead even bigger crowds.

You can start leading others by exhibiting a good character. Only then you can start developing others to become leaders and start developing other leaders. When your vision starts to grow and expand will you know that you have become a growing leader.

Lead yourself well, and you will be rewarded!