There is this German saying that I use sometimes, ok many times, when working with leaders:
If you can’t lead yourself, then you can’t lead others.
And as I prefer things phrased positively in my line of work, and the human brain deals better with that too, my version of that is:
Learn to lead yourself, then you can lead others. That is leadership from the inside.
Gone are the days of it being acceptable that leaders, when angry, deal with their emotion by verbally flame-torching their employees, suppliers, colleagues, …. in some cases even clients.
What was once considered a sign of strength, thankfully has been de-throned and de-coded into what it really is: someone being overloaded and overwhelmed and not in a position to manage their emotions adequately and considerately in situations with others.
Of course that does not mean we all have to be permanently in control of our emotions. That would be expecting the impossible.
However, it is possible and, in fact, very important, to expect leaders to know themselves and how they want to lead and be open to developing themselves in their leadership roles.
Particularly new work environments and self-organised teams will expect their leaders to be part of their team as well as part of the organisational team.
This requires collaborating as equals, as part of the team, and the organisation. Everyone collaborating towards a joint goal and success.
What do I mean by knowing yourself? I mean understanding yourself in terms of your preferred behavioural patterns, typical reactions to certain impulses and what kind of triggers might affect you.
In addition it is also good to have an understanding of your interests, goals in work, needs, strengths and, of course, weaknesses.
To know oneself as leader, it is particularly key to think about what values drive you as a leader.
For this it is useful to be aware of what values played a role in your formative years as a child, as well as what values you carry forward in your leadership work.
When practicing value-based leadership from the inside it is important to take that step back regularly. This enables you to check-in whether your values are reflected in what you do; as well as check how that shows to your team and others around you.
Many employees find it enlightening as well as interesting to know what values drive leaders working with them.
Furthermore, communicating what values are the foundation of your approach to leadership can help form a strong bond between you as leader and others, particularly your team.
At its core, leadership from the inside, is all about knowing about yourself, taking care of yourself, so that you can take care of others.
Most teams, particularly in new work and agile contexts, won’t need you to operatively take part of the load. They will need you to create a framework and point the direction, so that they can give their best. They will need you to create an environment where they, as experts, can innovate and problem-solve from within the team.
So what are your values?
More about the values that drove me as a leader and my value-based leadership, and me as a coach, trainer and facilitator now, next time.
Have any questions? Then get in touch! This is something I am truly passionate about and train and coach on very regularly. I look forward to hearing from you!
