As a leader, you may find yourself making comparisons to others, seeing their accomplishments (or defeats) and accolades as useful contributions in creating your barometer for leadership success.
You may seek out “mentors” or “role models,” these leaders contributing to the beliefs contained by your barometer for leadership success.
You may replay feedback and advice received (managing to put more emphasis on the constructive bits), reading between the lines, to continue to shape your barometer for leadership success.
You may observe promotions around you, the praises sung and interpret them beyond the simple meaning they have. You may attend leadership conferences and workshops feeling honoured to be there, and at the same time a bit of a fraud, gripping every piece of content to add to your barometer of leadership success.
Our barometer for leadership success is often formed on the opinions, views, feedback and actions of other leaders, and by the masses of leadership content and research available.
We would like to suggest it starts with you.
Understand your strengths, values, purpose, legacy and intentions, the stories that have shaped you, and how they play a role in who you are being today. Celebrate your values and purpose with stories of you at your best and navigating those pivotal moments in life.
Let these together drive how you hold space for others, and the language accessed in those conversations. Let them guide your choices, and how you lead. Let them inspire a more authentic style of leadership for you.
Yes, all of the rest above is also useful, there’s no doubt, but start with a base that is undoubtedly unique in moulding the type of leader you’ll become.
Cultivating self-awareness is one of the most valuable leadership abilities. Talk to us today about how our executive coaching and other leadership programs can help.
As we like to say, blaze your own leadership trail.
Download more information about our executive coaching program.