Course 2, Discussion 2: Lead by example
Great Leadership, unsurprisingly, starts with yourself!
Practice what you preach. Lead by example. I am sure all of you heard these phrases. But why are they so iconic?
Because the journey starts with the first step and you are the person who is taking the initiative to lead -- Start a journey! So, you are the one who needs to take the first step before expecting others to do it.
To start with leading yourself, close your eyes and visualize two people: someone who inspired and encouraged you to be like them, and someone who discouraged you to be not like them.
Then, write down the good qualities of the person who inspired you as well as the qualities of the second person. You do not have to be specific with the details. Just a bulleted list.
Now, compare the list to yourself. Note the good qualities you have, the bad qualities you have, and give yourself a rating on a scale of 1-10. What we just did is identified your strengths and weaknesses and what you need in order to lead yourself. This allows you to create self-awareness.
Self-awareness is key to leading yourself in the right direction. But, leading yourself is not easy. Just being self-aware isn't enough. It's igniting the spark but not enough to catch the fire. To catch the fire, you need to be persistent with your practice, which is regular reflection. Be consistent with monitoring your efforts and holding yourself accountable.
You can't effectively lead others until you know how to lead yourself. That happens through Self-Observant Leadership: when you deeply understand your identity, compare it to your reputation (how others experience you) and then make meaning of the observations, and choose to adapt.
Exercise:
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
✒️ Respond to one of your peers in this thread
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@Hope I think I learned about myself that I often work quite independently but need to develop better team orientation skills and be concerned with helping to improve others and also pay attention to how others see me to be a good example
Hi @quietlistener2023
I think it is amazing how you reflected this on yourself and able to understand your style better
@quietlistener2023
I love how you were able to realize this about yourself and notice where you can grow! 💗 Sometimes, it can be hard for us to realize and accept the things about us that we need to work on or change. You've got this! 💪 💕
@KaylaMaulfair Thank you so much Kayla for your reply. I hope we can continue to learn and grow
Hi @Hope
This exercise has taught me the significance of self-leadership as a prerequisite to leading others effectively. It underscores the importance of gaining a thorough understanding of the team, identifying both weaknesses and strengths. Motivating the team and fostering a drive for success are crucial aspects of leadership. Additionally, refraining from mentioning other team members or competitors is emphasized, as it can have a negative impact on the team's overall productivity.
@safetysource12 sounds like me!
- I learnt about the qualities I value and some areas for improvement.
- Self-awareness alone isn't enough; we also need consistency and accountability.
@SilverSeastar it's me again! I completely agree it's important to stay consistent especially in a leadership position so people know what the expectations are. I am also a huge champion for accountability. I think it is so important to take accountability for yourself and your actions. this was something I've firmly stressed with my kids.
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
• That my strengths outweigh my weaknesses. However, there is always room to grow.
• I think my strongest qualities are positivity, encouraging, and self-confidence.
• things I need to work on organization and procrastination
@Hope I learned that I need to know myself and be able to lead myself before going to others.
@Hope I learned that one of my biggest strength as a leader is having compassion for others, but also being a visionary and evaluating every situation
@StompingOnCP Having the vision and being affiliative sounds like an awesome combination of traits as a listener. Keep going ☺️
@Hope
I understand that I'm someone who is particular about the plans I make and I find it difficult to deal when my teammates being irresponsible. I need to improve my tolerance when working as a team.
@ChromaticFinss
I hear you, Finss. I am similar in expecting a lot of others and being less emotionally supportive than I'd like to be.
@Hope
What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I
learned that I am a lot like the person who inspired me, but still my own unique person. I'm
hardworking, kind, proactive, understanding, strong, and generous, just like the person who inspired me. I
try my hardest every day not to be like the person who discouraged me. The person I try every day not to be like is vindictive, mean, manipulative, abusive, selfish, a liar, a sociopath, and a narcissist. I've learned through this exercise, that even with everything I have been through in life, and the horrible role models I have had along the way, I have still somehow managed to become the person I am today. And it's all because of just that one person who inspired me the most. Some days, I fail. But I use those failures as a way to grow and learn, instead of things to beat myself up over.
I will respond to one of my peers after posting this discussion.
Basically I learned that I have a lot of good strengths! But I also do have some weaknesses. Fortunately, the good outweighs the bad. I still have a lot of life left to live, a lot of lessons to learn, and a lot of growth and improvement to do. I have learned from the person who inspired me, that we all grow and learn new things every day. Up until the day we die. Everyone has more room for growth, and people CAN change. I certainly did. I used to be a lot like the person who discouraged me, but the person who inspired me, helped me to turn my life around and become the woman I am today.
@KaylaMaulfair
I really liked how you explained what your strengths and weaknesses are. We all have them, but being able to expound on them, as you did, is awesome. I agree that having a person or persons, a mentor or mentors, to help guide and encourage are a wonderful asset to one's positive growth. Great post!
@KaylaMaulfair
First of all, I agree with 4Jasmine. But I'll reply more specifically below (even though the formatting is messed up - forgive me! lol):
"I'm hardworking, kind, proactive, understanding, strong, and generous, just like the person who inspired me."
@JustSophia
you are so sweet! 🥹🩵🤍🌸 Thank you girly 💕
@Hope
I discovered that I need to be a little more democratic in leadership.
@4Jasmine
Thanks for sharing!
I learned how I have a hard time delegating specific and/or harder tasks to people because I'm afraid that it will not get done right. But upon self reflection, I realized how it's not fair to others and I need to be willing to put in more trust.
