Unless someone else does your job for you, I strongly suggest you don't dismiss the message presented in this article as "self-improvement mumbo jumbo".
Anyone who hasn't made steps towards achieving "personal mastery", whether intentional or not, will receive little to no real-world value from all those other "5 Ways To..." articles they are reading.
Approximately 80% of people are so absorbed by their professional ego, the false image of themselves created where they confuse who they are as a human being and what they do for their job, that they are unable to connect the simple pattern of dots to see how mastering themselves provides a clear path to, and identifiable strategies for, achieving far greater success in both the personal and professional parts of their life.
Anyone who desires to be a better leader or more effective professional better make sure they don't fall victim to the same 3 mistakes we have observed CEOs, elected political leaders, and highly skilled technicians in all fields repeatedly make.
1. SELF-PROCLAIMED LEADERS ARE LEADERS OF NONE
I can walk into any organization in any industry and within 10 seconds of meeting any senior manager ascertain if that manager is a true leader or not.
I ask single question, "Are you an effective leader?"
The perfect answer is, "Only the people I lead can answer that question for you."
This response demonstrates the true nature of leadership...which has its foundations in the quality of the relationship between the leader and those who are willfully being led...A relationship that is entirely dependent on how a leader's actions and behaviours affect the people being led.
By embracing the fundamentals of Personal Mastery, anyone can learn to exhibit the right behaviours and actions to be viewed by their people as a leader.
Self-proclaimed leaders, on the other hand, are those who view themselves as good leaders. Their view is solely based on their effective execution of the technical skills associated with "leadership".
The over-reliance on technical leadership by self-proclaimed leaders exists so they may deflect any leadership failures on to the technical steps they are following or the people they are leading.
Statements such as, "I am performing my leadership skills exactly as taught so the problem isn't me, it must be the skills." Or, "I am doing everything right so the problem can't be my leadership...it must be my people" are commonplace.
Self-proclaimed leaders tend to be leaders of none because they refuse to own their part in their inability to be viewed as the leaders they desire to be...they see their leadership results as external to how they act and react to the people around them.
And mastering ourselves dictates we take 100% ownership over our life.
2. VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCE
A second reason people avoid owning their leadership of others is because they perceive themselves to be victims of their circumstances.
These people look at the success others are achieving and declare it the result of luck, favourable treatment, or some sort of natural superiority (e.g. their successful colleague must be very smart).
This implies that their lack of success must be the result of not experiencing the same favourable external conditions.
They refuse to own their leadership over themselves and others by blaming things they in no way can control.
Consider the classic example of the teacher who convinced herself that the reason her classes average grade level was so low was because she was given a bad group of students to teach...It wasn't HER fault!
One thing we teach to our clients that in the "river of life", circumstances are the current and no one is able to control the current. We are, however, able to control how we act and react to where the current sends us.
That is why people who own their leadership see circumstances as obstacles that can be overcome and not conditions that prohibit or prevent action from being taken.
3. HIRED AS A LEADER, APPRAISED AS A MANAGER
Everyone claims to want a leader...
Yet, when the rubber hits the road, people are judged based on their ability manage, not lead.
The CEO may be both trusted and respected across all employees...but unless they manage the company's bottom line their tenure in that particular business will be short-lived.
The political leader may show great integrity and transparency...but unless he or she regularly tells people what they want to hear he or she is unlikely to be re-elected.
The highly skilled technician may be pioneering and forward-thinking...but unless their innovative approach is executed without mistakes, they are deemed incompetent.
Most leaders are smart and aware.
They know they will be judged based on how effective a manager they are, whether it be in the realm of growing profits, passing legislation, winning games, or teaching others.
So it makes complete sense that people sacrifice leadership in order to increase their performance as a manager.
No one wants to be judged negatively.
Sadly, this means that opportunities for improvement in workplace culture, employee development, and social expectations are ignored so that more "real work" can be completed instead.
Rather than owning their leadership, they own their management at the expense of their leadership.
You may be thinking, "well, can you really blame them?"...Well....
Behaving as a leader, owning one's leadership, isn't always easy or fun...and it may introduce a real cost to the person taking on this noble role, but as soon as a person accepts the job that includes "leadership", they have a responsibility to follow through on their leadership duties to the best of their abilities.
Acting with integrity, character, and transparency at all times, regardless of consequences, is a sign they have started to embrace what it truly means to be a leader.
IN THE END...
Achieving greater success in one's personal and professional life requires exercising a high degree of leadership over one's self and others. Owning this leadership, being a leader, means mastering the personal habits that define our behaviour.
If you are ready to take the next steps towards PERSONAL MASTERY...to be a better leader...to reduce the chaos in your life...or to feel more in control of your life...CLICK BELOW NOW!