Introspection and authenticity in leadership
Leadership has great power. It may motivate us to take on challenges we had never considered. It may spur a team to success, provide exponential profits, and help a company grow. Effective leadership is the most crucial competitive advantage a business can have.
The genuine compass, on the other hand, is about investing in people and uniting them behind a shared goal, according to introspective, honest, and servant leaders. Realising that this task is not about you but rather the greater cause in carrying out that vision occurs when you decide to teach, mentor, or coach.
If you inspire people to work harder than they have ever worked before in order to achieve that goal for the success of your various teams, it is remarkable how frequently they will defy conventional wisdom in order to achieve that exact same vision.
Leaders that are self-aware are deliberate and successful in their planning and methodically carry it out, with the flexibility to alter their route when necessary. They put in tireless effort to meet the enormous problems that unavoidably occur, continually evaluating both their own performance and that of their staff.
They act like most effective leaders do, which is to say that they are conscious of their strengths and concentrate on fully exploiting their core abilities, regardless of the situation. They are open about their flaws, though, and surround themselves with others who can give them perspective. This distinguishes them from many others who stumble.
Although it may be taught, introspective leadership is, in many ways, innate. Your DNA contains traits like desire, the intrinsic capacity to persuade and inspire, and tenacity in the face of the most difficult challenges. However, you get such skills via practical leadership experience. Adaptability in the face of unforeseen challenges, shifting market dynamics, and outright failure is one such attribute.
Being adaptable enables you to grow both personally and professionally by allowing you to learn from your mistakes. So why it is so difficult to lead oneself, as Professor George asks? The response for reflective leaders is that there is frequently a disconnect between the idealised self (how you want to be perceived) and the true self (that which you really are).
The fundamental secret to developing as a leader is to close this gap through a keen self-awareness that can only come from honest feedback from people you respect and trust, coupled with a candid examination of yourself, and then a reasoned effort to change the necessary behaviours, pick up new skills and concentrate on the right performance at the right time to improve your capacity to realise your vision.
Do you want to develop your leadership skills? Do you wish to become one of this century’s most highly sought-after people managers? The next step is to pause and think about who you are.