In the field of companies and team management, it is very common to talk about leadership as an interpersonal phenomenon. It is not surprising that this is the case, since the ability to lead groups of people who work harmoniously and combining their individual skills is as spectacular as it is practical in the work context, since it makes it possible to obtain results unattainable by each of those involved separately. .
However, we must not overlook that For leadership to exist, it is necessary that self-leadership work has been undertaken first This process, which is not so much interpersonal as intrapersonal, has to do with knowing oneself and managing one’s emotions appropriately.
Let’s start with a quick definition. Self-leadership is the ability that allows us to consciously influence our thoughts, emotions and behaviors, that is, our own behavior, with the aim of achieving our objectives and goals decisively.
It is very important to have good self-leadership skills if we want to be good leaders with others ; If we are not able to direct ourselves… How will we guide and direct a group of people?
In this way, maintaining a good capacity for self-leadership increases the possibility of achieving one’s own established goals, whether in the short or long term and being able to postpone immediate gratification and remain motivated to achieve a greater goal in the future.
This skill has a positive impact not only on job performance, but also on personal well-being; It helps us to be able to make our own decisions without binding ourselves to frameworks of thought that are imposed on us from outside and lead us to make the same mistakes over and over again. Thus, it guides us towards action strategies in which we can behave independently and maintaining a critical attitude towards what we do
Likewise, self-leadership is broken down into five skills that influence it: self-knowledge, the ability to identify our own thoughts and emotions; the maintenance of correct self-esteem, understood as the assessment we make of ourselves; autonomy, or ability to establish one’s own objectives; self-management, which is the ability to regulate oneself emotionally, and self-motivation, which consists of staying strong in the face of challenges to achieve a goal.
The process of consolidating self-leadership
The capacity for self-leadership can be worked on, that is, we can learn it taking into account a series of points or conditions.
Leading does not mean being at the top of a hierarchy or commanding others, but knowing how to guide a group of people with the purpose of achieving pre-established goals or objectives, and in order to correctly perform this function it will first be necessary to know how to lead or guide oneself. same.
What can be done in this sense to improve self-leadership capacity?
1. Be clear about your values ​​and beliefs and respect them
It is very important that your objectives and goals are in line with your beliefs, values ​​and way of thinking, since this will make it easier for you to stay faithful and firm to your project until you can achieve them through consistent strategies. You will feel more comfortable knowing that you are doing what you really want or feel you should do.
Given the difficulty of maintaining a long-term goal, If this is not according to us, we will be more likely to give up sooner
Thus, the self-leadership process will be simpler and more prosperous if we direct our objectives to achieve self-realization, to develop our capabilities, skills and talents to achieve what we desire. In this way, we will give meaning to our own lives and develop our own potential.
2. Know what the strengths of each one are
It is important that to optimally direct our behavior and actions towards an objective let’s know and use our best skills in order to ensure a good result and be able to achieve the goals more easily.
3. Work on our own skills
Skills are not static, that is, we can work on them so that they increase and prosper. In this way, training them in a systematic way will allow us to start from our predispositions and talents and pave the way for us in the most delicate phase: the beginning
4. Be self-aware and honest with yourself
It is important to be honest with yourself about the shortcomings or skills that we need to work on. Once done, we can focus on learning and working with them. Deceiving ourselves by ignoring our own vulnerabilities does not benefit us On the contrary, it acts against us, not allowing us to learn and evolve.
5. Have our objectives clear
As we were already advancing, Setting short-term goals is not incompatible with having future goals, since some complement the others. In this way, it is necessary to know where we want to go, what we want to achieve in order to work and even break down our final goal into smaller objectives so that the path is easier and the final purpose is reached.
It is also recommended to be clear about what we want to achieve and be realistic. Setting unrealistic goals only distracts us and wastes our time, generating a high opportunity cost.
What does coaching provide?
As we have seen, you cannot lead well (a project, a team…) without self-leadership.
In this sense Coaching promotes the self-knowledge necessary to generate that self-leadership so necessary to lead our lives as we want.
How can coaching help us?
If you are interested in working on these areas of self-leadership, access our coaching training programs. In European Coaching School We offer you several options to train you in team coaching, executive coaching, and more.
