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Great leadership starts with self leadership

leadership management gutek

                                                                                                                                              September 12, 2011

All leadership begins with “self-leadership.”  Before any leader can aspire to lead a thriving enterprise they must first master leading an organization of one.  

Some people are more naturally disciplined than others. For those that struggle with discipline, you can create the structures that promote greater “professional will.”  To help you get started, consider the following five disciplines of self-leadership. To engage in these practices will accelerate your effectiveness and prepare you to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.

Control time

The most basic expression of self-discipline is controlling your time so that you are focused on your “highest and best” use.  The effectiveness of leaders is limited by allowing others to set too much of the agenda. Here are some practices you can intentionally engage in that will promote a greater ability to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.


•    Time blocking: Predetermine blocks of time allocated for your most important activities
•    Landing the plane: Do not allow meetings and conversations to extend beyond the appropriate time limit
•    Time cop: Give your assistant or colleague some authority to assist you in executing your calendar
•    Power sprints: Protect one hour blocks of uninterrupted time to execute your most complex work

Fuel energy

Leadership is an energy intensive endeavor.  One of the primary reasons for allowing unsolved problems to be swept under the carpet is the lack of energy of the leader. Energy is important to intercept entropy at its earliest stages.  

The disciplines most commonly associated with fueling your energy often involve diet, exercise and sleep habits. Also build into your schedule opportunities to engage in things that put wind in your sails. Which activities energize you, and ignite your curiosity and passion? Below are some practices that you may want to proactively pursue;


•    Reading:  Helps you think bigger thoughts
•    Travel:  Helps you see a bigger world
•    Networking:  Helps you learn from other businesses

 

Temper emotions

So much business literature will reference the all important aspect of passion  There is no argument that passion is essential to effective leadership.  Passion is the natural reservoir of energy that propels a leader forward in the face of adversity. However, at times it is critical to practice the discipline of being “dispassionate.”

Being dispassionate allows a leader to protect the environment from becoming toxic, and engaging in the wrong battles. A leader should fuel their energy by investing in their passion, but keep things from running off the rails by not pouring gas on a volatile situation. Below are few techniques that you can practice to promote appropriate dispassion;

•    Ask questions
•    Define the problem
•    Spend more time on solutions
•    Take deep breaths before speaking

Focus words

The most commonly used tool in the arsenal of a leader is their words.  Far too often we lack the right words at the right time.  Why wouldn’t the wise leader make time to practice the discipline of focusing his or her words for the greatest impact?  

The discipline of outlining scripts for crucial situations will help make sure that the words that flow from your mouth achieve the purpose of the right words at exactly the right time.  Below are various scenarios that a leader will encounter where being prepared in advance with a script or an outline will help matters:

•    Vision:  A brief outline that calibrates key players on the vision of the organization
•    Conflict:  A brief outline that defuses hostility and allow people to work the problem
•    Correction:  A brief outline that identifies problem behavior and promotes improvement

Use power

The fifth important discipline that must be an ongoing practice for leaders is disciplining your power. Know where your source of authority comes from.  Are you building your power base from the positional role in the organization or your credibility with the people you lead?

As the industrial revolution comes to a close and we give birth to the “personal age,” it is becoming clear that the authority of a leader rests in the relationships they form with the people they lead.  The risk most often encountered when influencing people where there is a personal relationship is not maintaining the authority to exercise your power.  One practice that can assist in maintaining your authority is identifying those with whom you need to come out from behind the desk, and those with whom you must stay behind the desk.
    
•    Out from behind the desk:  Individuals with the maturity to be clear on your authority
•    Stay behind the desk:  Individuals that need you to maintain your position of authority

Practice the disciplines in each of the five areas of self-leadership and you will find you possess an uncanny ability to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.  

Glenn Gutek is a speaker and CEO of Awake Consulting & Coaching. He is also the author of “Wide-Awake Leadership,” which teaches leaders how to overcome mediocrity though effective leadership. For more information, visit www.AwakeConsulting.com or contact Glenn at glenn@awakeconsulting.com or 407-901-4357.

 

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