Being a more conscious leader starts with raising your self awareness as to the kind of leader that you are today and the leader you want to be in the future. To be the leader that you wish you had, to stop waiting for it and become it, for yourself and for others.
Early on in my career, I’d try on different leadership styles and labels – visionary, coaching, servant, situational (to name just a few) but no one or even two or three styles seemed to quite fit.
The best thing I did for my growth as a leader, and I would recommend it to you, is to free yourself of the labels, stop trying to fit into someone else’s mould or become yet another company clone.
Create your own brand of leadership, one that is authentically and uniquely you and one that is highly transferable.
Here’s five steps to get you started on becoming a conscious leader, a leader by your own design.
Step 1 - Leadership Vision, Values and Legacy
Grab yourself a pen and paper, your laptop or your phone, whatever is best for you and ask yourself: (you don’t have to do it in one sitting, do what comes to mind, reflect and come back to it)
What are my leadership values?
Take time with this one, it’s amazing how we can often take on other people’s values without even realising it, especially when you’ve had the same boss or worked for the same company for a long time. Really take time to connect to your own inner values.
Who is the leader I want to be?
What will I look like? Sound Like? What presence will I have? What will my character be like? My strengths? How do I feel? What and who matters to me the most?
What would I want my leadership legacy to be?
What would success look like to me? What would I want people to say about me when I’ve moved on? What difference will I make?
Step 2 - Leadership Statement/Intent
Again this may take some time, you'll be lucky to nail it in one sitting so take your time, it's not a race. Use what you’ve written to create your own personal ‘Conscious Leader’ that over time will move from your conscious to your unconscious. Depending on your preference this may be a written statement or a visual – a model or mind map for example.
Step 3 - Leadership Self Assessment
Honestly and critically assess where you are as a leader to that vision. Consider your intuition, what evidence you have and what feedback is available to you and what might you want to seek out? Where are you already doing well and where do you see gaps? What small changes can you make now and what longer term developments do you have? You can use these to inform future development plans.
Step 4 - Align your actions and decisions
Make your ‘Conscious Leader’ statement/model your ‘North Star’ almost like your own inner guide or mentor.
Take action and make decisions based on ‘will this move me closer to being the leader I want to be?’ Say ‘yes’ to everything that does and ‘no’ to anything that doesn’t.
Step 5 - Review and celebrate becoming a more Conscious Leader
Assess your progress on a regular basis, what improvements have you made, how far have you come and take time to celebrate yourself. For every step you take towards becoming a better and more conscious leader, not only does it have a positive impact on you and your career but for those you lead and beyond.
Leadership ripples.
When I started to lead myself and others more consciously, no longer on auto pilot, not looking to others for direction but trusting in myself, I felt so much more aligned, confident and empowered. You can still listen and learn from others, knowing what feels right and wrong for you and why. So take the advice and feedback that works strategically for you and let the rest go. The more conscious I became, the more self-aware, more focussed and more motivated I became.
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Thanks for reading.
Lucy
A passionate advocate for conscious leadership and the power of coaching.
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