Leadership
Actions to Become a Good Leader
The source of good leadership may be closer than you think
Where good leadership originates
Each of us leads something based on circumstances. Leading in ways inspiring others to follow requires commitment and hard work. Mostly it requires love and dedication to those you choose to serve. When the desire to serve and lead calls to you, you can develop the skills you need to be successful.
Most individuals could lead more effectively but have chosen to believe a lie. It comes in the form of a whisper in our own minds. It says, “who do you think you are?” We doubt our ability to lead and keep quiet.
We think to ourselves, “this must be true”. When we share good ideas that could make a difference the people in charge do something different and things stay the same. We feel no one listens to us, so we buy give in to the lie, and the years go by with us thinking that only those in charge should lead. They know best and we wait to be told what to do. Have you ever wondered what has brought us to this point?
The wrong leadership mindset
Like many of you, I faced a big challenge in finding my voice to lead because early in my career I took to heart some poor advice. I bought into the legacy thinking that reinforces the idea that managers were ‘leaders’. I thought I needed to wait until I had the title before I could bring needed change to the people I served. I was wrong.
It took me several years to own the poor decision I made to follow someone else’s path. I’ve learned since that developing into the genuine and compassionate leader we were designed to require us to draw our own map and mostly use our inner compass.
The work of Todd Henry and many others, helped me discover I possessed a creative voice. By taking responsibility and holding ourselves accountable to the practice of becoming better we can begin to recognize it. Over time others will trust it too and they may give us a special gift; their permission to lead.
How to get unstuck
You can get unstuck when you change your mind and begin to think differently about yourself and what you have to offer. Part of using your voice comes as you identify what gifts you possess and what values are most important. As you use them effectively and on purpose, they can energize you to greater accomplishment and opportunity.
Next, invest that energy in serving others. When we do this our leadership capability growth accelerates and others will spread the word. Helping others get where they want to go brings new opportunities.
There are a lot of voices out there today telling us what we should do. We’ve all heard them. Before taking the path of least resistance, let me challenge you to trust yourself first. I found my voice and share my learnings with others. You can too.
Take these 4 actions to get unstuck
1) Identify your gift and cultivate it
We aren’t ready to lead until we have something to give. Identify what it is. If you aren’t sure, ask those close to you. They’ll know.
We can’t give something to others we don’t possess. Inside; you will find you are enough to make a difference. Cultivate your gift, grow it. Sharing it causes multiplication. Practice using it on purpose to help those you choose to serve.
2) Use your own voice
We won’t become the leader others will follow until we discover our voice as I had to discover the hard way. Our voice becomes one of our most effective leadership tools.
Please don’t use someone else’s voice. We can never expect to perform consistently better operating in areas where we are not as gifted.
3) Become driven by generosity
Our motivation must be felt by others if we expect to lead them. It is not about us. It never was. Leading is always about those we choose to serve. Regardless of what we receive from others, when we give our best we can live without regret.
Living from a grateful heart is healthy. Consider taking Jordan Rothstein’s advice where he provides us with 10 ways to master gratefulness.
4) See others without judgment
Our attitude towards others must be biased towards seeing the best in them. Trust increases as we commit to giving others grace when they make mistakes.
Knowing the importance of servant leadership in my work, one of my dearest friends asked me for a working definition. Based upon all that I have read, learned and practice, this is how I replied:
“The servant-leader leads by example and serves a cause bigger than themselves. They bring others with them. They empower, encourage those they lead to live their design to the fullest. The servant-leader is motivated to serve first and is deeply committed to helping grow their followers. ”
A practical application of servant leadership principles
My working definition fits into the ShepherdingHeart Leadership Framework based on a handful of principles I discovered. This is exactly how I practice leadership and help others become more effective in leading too. I had to undergo a transformation myself and that is why I write, conduct workshops and speak.
The shepherding framework in a nutshell
- Shepherding yourself: This is where our leadership journey begins and we actively develop ourselves. Kouzes and Posner in their book, The Leadership Challenge advise us to “Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared values.”
- Entering the world of others: We do this on their terms, not ours because we care about what is important to them, first. Read more about this in my article on building high performance.
- Helping our people connect with us: Sharing our values and how we work to see what we might have in common. We invite others to help and contribute their best.
- Create safe environments: Building high-performing teams requires psychological safety according to Google research.
- Leading generously; keeping the team on track. The hardest part for most of us. We do this through a shared vision that we develop together collaboratively. This sometimes comes with sacrifice. We also need to be aware of the obstacles holding teams back.Because who follows another who is out only for themselves?
- Celebrate as you achieve the remarkable: Performance comes as a result of the right people doing the right work. Could you expect anything less than remarkable?
So there we have it. We all have it in us to become a leader others want to follow. We have all we need. It is in us. What we need to do is identify the traits that energize us and practice them. Show up. Do “the work”. When we do we can expect more energy, more influence, and more opportunities. We may even begin coaching others and help them find their voice.
Shepherding is the art of becoming the leader others want to follow.