KNOW YOURSELF CONTROL YOURSELF

To master the skills necessary to be an effective leader, you must know yourself and control yourself. This very simple statement captures the essence of growing yourself into a true leader.

Being able to control yourself and your emotions is a fundamental leadership attribute. The ability to control your emotions will allow you to think through difficult situations critically and draw logical conclusions. This skill is especially necessary in our changing economic times. Never forget - your team sees you and draws from your emotions. If you’re not in control of yourself and don’t think through tough situations, it is unrealistic to think your team will behave differently. This behavior will, in turn, cascade throughout your organization.


Fundamentally, a cornerstone of leadership development is knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and then honing your strengths and improving the areas that need work. It also means that you must face the reality that there will be members of your team that possess more expertise than you in many areas. You must be secure with who you are - not only as a person but as a leader.


So how does a leader become more self-reflective and effective? How can he or she become more than a manager? How do you become a leader that people want to follow? First, put team before self. You are in a position of trust, and it isn’t just about you. Second, you must be open to feedback - especially when it doesn’t reflect well on you. You must be willing to work at modifying your behavior if it is ineffective, hurtful, or counter-productive. Third, you must be willing to continuously improve. Constantly scrutinizing what you are doing well and what you are not doing so well is not easy, but who said leadership was easy? Leadership can be lonely and painful, but conversely, it can be very rewarding personally and professionally.


Scott K. Thompson