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Self-leadership

Definition of Self-leadership

Leadership is the ability to influence people to get things done. Meanwhile, self – leadership is the ability to
consciously influence own thoughts and behavior to achieve personal goals or an organizations’ objectives.
Self - leadership is the first stage or level of leadership. For employees, whether managers or ordinary
subordinates, self – leadership is of great importance (Green, M., Kruckerberg, K., et al., 2011).

Self-leadership is having a developed sense of who you are, what you can do, where you are going, coupled
with the ability to influence your communication, emotions, and behaviors on the way to getting there.
(Browning, 2018)

Skills for Self-leadership (Indeed, 2020)

Self-awareness
The most important skill for developing self-leadership is a strong sense of self. This self-awareness refers to
understanding who you are, what your goals are, what your strengths are, and areas where you can
improve. Good self-leaders have a thorough understanding of who they are as individuals and can identify
what they want to accomplish. Self-awareness also includes emotional self-awareness, which is the ability to
understand your personal moods, emotions, and motivations and how they impact you. Self-aware
individuals can also complete an accurate and objective self-assessment, which leads to self-confidence and
development.

Motivation
Another defining characteristic of self-leadership is being highly motivated. Motivation is the purpose that
provides energy to push personal limits and continues to work when challenges arise. Individuals who have
strong self-leadership have a passion that drives them to overcome any limitations they may face.

Decision-making
It is important to have strong decision-making skills if you want to develop good self-leadership. You need
the ability to know your strengths and weaknesses, identify what you want to do, and make a plan for
success. It also requires the ability to proactively anticipate needs and challenges and then effectively
respond to them when they arise.

Dedication
This is a commitment to a specific task or purpose. Dedication is important to developing strong self-
leadership skills because it helps you stay motivated to complete tasks and stay the course to overcome
challenges when they arise.

Influence
This is another core characteristic of strong self-leadership, which provides you with influence over others
because your beliefs and actions inspire them to work harder to achieve the same success you have. The
influence you have on others encourages them to model productive and helpful behavior. If you can control
your own emotions, thoughts, and behavior to accomplish personal goals, this translates as a positive
influence on those around you.

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Empathy
This is the ability to understand the emotions and feelings of others and to respond to them in a way that
shows you understand and respect their viewpoint. Having empathy requires you to have a deep
understanding of your own emotions and feelings, which allows you to make a close connection to the
feelings of others and respond appropriately. Empathy is often a skill that leaders need because it allows
them to make genuine connections with the people they are leading.

Social skills
Social skills are the ability to build rapport, make strong connections with others, and maintain those
relationships. Having strong social skills allows you to build relationships with trust and respect. Every leader
needs social skills to effectively encourage their team to follow their lead and work together. Strong social
skills are a key component in creating high-performing teams.

Self-regulation
This is the ability to regulate your own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, without external interference, in
a socially acceptable way. Self-regulation skills help you respond to challenges rather than reacting to them.
A response is the deliberate, carefully thought-out way in which you choose to address a challenge or an
unforeseen circumstance, whereas a reaction is a spontaneous outburst. A reaction is typically driven by
emotion and a response is driven by logic or reasoning. Strengthening self-regulation skills helps you ensure
you respond to challenges positively and effectively.

Accountability
Accountability is taking responsibility for your own thoughts, decisions, emotions, and actions.
Accountability is an important skill of self-leadership that is directly connected to many of the other self-
leadership skills. Accountability means not blaming someone else when something goes wrong and taking
the action needed to correct the issue. A responsible leader is accountable for the actions and behavior of
both themselves and their teams. A leader with strong accountability can build more efficient and productive
teams.

Self-coaching

Self-coaching is the process of guiding one’s individual growth and development, particularly through
periods of transition, in both the professional and personal realms. It is a powerful skill set of tools and
techniques that anyone can apply to create instant and sustainable changes. It is often used when individuals
seek to regain control of their actions and beliefs, and therefore strive toward positive life changes (Hinen,
2015).

Advantages of Self-Coaching
 Increased awareness of your own strengths and capabilities
 Increased awareness of your thought’s patterns and habits
 Understanding that you can choose which thought, pattern or habit supports you or hold you back
 Growth in self-confidence, self-awareness, determination, motivation, and problem-solving abilities
 Self-coaching may become an automatic response to challenges

A good self-coaching process will allow someone to explore thinking, ideas, and beliefs to create effective
strategies, to get the results they want. It will also train to think differently and enables you to take more
control over your life. Most of all, self-coaching is a time to slow down, be mindful, and check with yourself
and determine what is right or best for you (Hinen, 2015).

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Self-Coaching Tips
 Write it down. Writing down thoughts, feelings, ideas, and plans not only increases levels of
motivation but also significantly increases the likelihood of success.
 Ask the right questions and wait for the answer. Ask questions that move toward a solution rather
than toward the problem. Becoming solution-focused is one of the quickest ways of self-coaching
yourself to success.
 Be open to new ideas. One common outcome arising from behavioral training in schools and
corporate life is many people immediately rest new ideas.
 Self-celebrate. Don’t leave success to fate or someone else for that matter. The more someone
embraces and acknowledges real lifetime successes and achievements, the more they build their
own inner reserves of self-esteem and confidence.
 Under promise and over deliver. Avoid flooding yourself with loads of things to do and then find
yourself drowning in feeling overwhelmed.
 Learn to say “no”. To really embrace the full benefits of what can be gained from self-coaching, one
will have to get real about what and who he/she will need to start saying no to.
 Lighten up. Own up to mistakes and shortcomings. Owning up can catapult into a more enlightened
state in fact, it can literally lighten your load.
 Compassionate accountability. Focus on raising the sense of ownership around two basic issues:
awareness and responsibility. As far a self-coaching goes, responsibility means accountability.
 Do less for more time. How to do less for more? People waste a lot of time trying to master their
weaknesses. Instead, find a master in an area or field and contact them. A great question is to ask,
“Who could do a much better job for me than I’m currently doing”?
 Experience life to the max. The more richness and vitality found in the ordinary aspects of everyday
life, the better equipped it will be to handle the ups and downs.
 Be thankful. Allow the ability to be thankful shine through in both the good times and the bad.
We’ve all been there! Gratitude gives us the strength to find the good in every situation and grow in
a much stronger way.
 Get to the point. Getting to the point is in danger of becoming a lost art in the corporate world
where taking responsibility is sometimes like being exposed to a highly contagious and career-
limiting disease.
 Replenish energy. With hard work, how does someone fill up his/her inner reserves? Everyone has
something that allows them to replenish their energy and refuel their tank. For some it’s nature, for
others it’s a good book or music.
 Remember that “small is the new big”. Develop the skill of breaking own goals down into small
steps that enables the project or goal to happen.
 Let success come to you. Striving can be such hard work. On this journey, one may hit the point
where whatever he/she try to do or put in place just doesn’t work.

Personal Vision

The idea of having a personal vision is not new. Throughout the ages, movers and shakers of history have
had a clear vision of what needs to be done either for them or the society at large. Visions are lofty and
strategic. That is, they provide an inspirational overview of where someone is heading to (Green, M.,
Kruckerberg, K., et al., 2011).

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Components of a Vision
According to Stewart Friedman, Professor of Management at the Wharton School, the four (4) key
components of a vision are:
 A compelling story of the future is engaging; it captures the heart and forces to pay attention. Those
who hear it want to be a part of it. And, they are moved.
 What does your future look like, what is the image? If others could travel into the future with you,
what would they find? A well-crafted leadership vision is described in concrete terms that are easy
to visualize and remember.
 The story of your future should be a stretch, but it must be achievable too. If it is not achievable, you
would have little motivation to even bother trying.
 Finally, the future simply means out there, some time from this moment forward, but not so far
away that it is out of reach.

A personal vision should include the following elements and features:

 Your vision should look 5-7 years ahead.
 It is about where you want to be, not where you are.
 The best visions give you something to grow into so do not be too modest. Make it big!
 It describes the essence of the new life you seek, not every detail.
 It is based on your life interests, on your passions, and considers your life which consists of different
circles.
 It is fully aligned with the core values that you hold dear in your life.
 It should be written in the present, not future tense. It describes what you would feel, hear, think
say, and do if you were to reach your vision now.

References:

Browning, M. (2018). Self-leadership: Why it matters. https://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_9_No_2_February_2018/2.pdf

Hinen, B., (August 17, 2015). 15 Tips for Self-Coaching and Personal Development. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/15-tips-self-
coaching-professional-development-brandie-hinen on March 30, 2020.

Indeed. (February 26, 2020). Guide to Self-leadership. In Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/self-

leadership

Kruckeberg, Katja; Amann, Wolfgang; and Green, Mike. (2011). Leadership and Professional Development: A toolbox for the 21st
Century Professional. Information Age Publishing, Inc.

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