Self-Leadership

"Self-leadership is a concept that revolves around individuals taking proactive steps to guide and manage themselves effectively. It involves the ability to influence, motivate, and direct oneself toward personal and professional goals"

(Andrew Bryant)

Behaviour 1

Imagine setting off on a long trek in the wilderness, let’s say your goal is to walk a distance of 10km. You can picture the end of your journey and you know what it looks like. Now let’s say that to get there, you have to walk on a compass bearing of 180 degrees (due south). However, the weather is bad, and you are cold and distracted. Not thinking too clearly, and in your rush to sight your compass, you make an error at the very beginning of your journey. You begin walking on a compass bearing of 174 degrees.

This difference of only 6 degrees at the start point has a huge magnifying effect. You will end up over 1km to the west of your intended start point. You will be lost, tired, frustrated and unsure how to correct your mistake. Ensuring that you are setting off on the correct course, that your values, mood and focus are aligned with the direction and end-point you envision, is the first behaviour you need to begin practicing, if you want others to consider following you.

Self-leadership can only begin to flourish in the ideal environment. Often times, this environment is denied to us, and it is incumbent on either an enlightened boss or leader to grant freedom of thought or action, or on the individual to be proactive and create this space for themselves. To develop sound self-leadership the individual must develop their core competencies. This involves being aware of who you are, understanding your current strengths and weaknesses and deciding on where you want to be in the future. The future path will most probably include a degree of education, and identifying what, and how, you will make up this educational deficit is important.

Finally, self-regulation, the ability to modulate your own anxiety and arousal and to question your own beliefs and be able to rationally reorient your thinking, are critical for your self-presentation and your ability to remain mentally and socially agile. The point of being granted an environment of empowerment and going through the process of examining and developing your core competencies is to grow your ability to be intrinsically motivated and to develop your self-efficacy.