SELF-LEADERSHIP: PART 1
When an organization plateaus, the capacity of the leader has been defined.
The barrier of SELF: We may think ourselves to be pretty amazing (and you probably are!). Yet, we are often a barrier to our own success. That originates from how we perceive our identity. While many center their lives around “This is what I DO,” we must candidly evaluate our “Who,” as in “Who I truly AM.” It’s time for some personal evaluation, which will have a long-lasting effect on your future, expanding your potential, and enhancing your organization. Let’s discuss this…
We are focused on ourselves a lot of the time. “Self” can be considered as: (a) awareness and assurance, while at the same time can be (b) absorption, reliance, and promotion. These two perspectives are important for leaders to reflect on. The goal is to reflect on “self” without getting too caught up in “self,” right?
There is a myriad of resources designed to help us better understand ourselves—personality profile tools like Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, Strength Finders, IDAK, and many others. Books are also excellent resources to help you discover and deal with issues you may be facing that can create other barriers in your life: Winning the War of Your Mind, Atomic Habits, Emotional Healthy Leader, The Search for Significance, and a host of others. Resources like these are great!
But exploring “self” as a barrier involves WHO we are and WHY we are this way. The “Why” is crucial… because if you do not know why you are the way you are and the barriers that may exist in your life, you cannot truly know and understand who you are. Knowing “Who” you are and “Why” will lead you to a level of self-awareness and self-assuredness that will equip you to be all you’re created to be.
To help you discover the “Why,” you need a healthy amount of transparency. Unfortunately, being vulnerable with others is something many in senior leadership do not encourage or even allow. A lack of transparency can become a disability for leaders and, consequently, be a barrier to our own personal well-being and to the growth of the organization. A lack of transparency can allow frustrations and hidden hurt to fester over time. This can and will limit our ability to thrive and grow. If our growth is limited, it will soon affect the health of our relationships at home, work, and elsewhere.
When I am involved in leadership coaching, the initial question I like to ask is, “Who are you?” This question speaks to our identity – how we see ourselves. I usually get some interesting responses. The question and answer are key if we are going to be all that we were made to become. In his book, “Spiritual Authority,” Rob Reimer says spiritual authority starts with our identity, or how we see ourselves. Given this, we need a clear understanding of “who we are.” According to Reimer, once we have established our identity, we can move on to intimacy with God and others. Conversely, without acknowledging and appreciating our identity, we will not experience the intimacy and faith we need to unleash the authority available to us.