Guest Blogger Series – Strategies for Improving your Self-Leadership skills

Hello All! This is Colleen Kelly, the Chief Financial Officer, for KenCrest. I am happy to be Marian’s guest blogger for the month of August. My blog series will be sharing some of my thoughts around the topic of leadership. Today’s blog is on Self Leadership.

I welcome any feedback, let me know your thoughts!

 

Strategies for Improving your Self-Leadership skills

When you think of the word Leadership you often think of guiding teams, steering projects, or managing departments. Yet, the first leadership type is that of leading oneself, or Self-leadership. Self-Leadership includes self-awareness, goal setting and planning, development of personal relationships, and the ability to learn and adjust when things do not go according to plan.  Using these skills can help you accomplish many things and set you on your way to becoming a great leader.

The core competencies for effective self-leadership include:

*Self-awareness – The first competency is Self-awareness, or the ability of knowing oneself, what drives and interests you, as well as what brings happiness and joy. This is crucial for determining and establishing goals that you want to achieve.

*Goal Setting and Planning – The next competency is the goal setting and the ability to subdividing your goals into smaller manageable milestone. Sometimes rewards can be used to maintain or increase motivation along the way to your final goal.

*Developing and Leveraging Relationships – Another competency is developing and using your personal networks. Your personal network consists of colleagues, family, friends, neighbors, social media contacts, and community members. This competency is the ability to identify essential resources available and the ones needed, as well as the ability to ask for and obtain support, for achieving your desired outcomes.

*Learning from Setbacks – Failures or mistakes can occasionally occur on the road to success. Setbacks can generate frustration, especially when they’re unanticipated or when they delay progress. You may feel inclined to give up when this happens. However, resilience is key; self-compassion and renewed resolve for achieving your goals are vital. Analyzing what’s been done so far and understanding missteps is an essential part of the process. Altering your milestones or your strategies might become necessary to achieve your desired outcome.

After graduating college, I got a job at a global CPA firm. Knowing that being promoted at the firm would require a CPA license, I set my goal on passing the CPA exam. This would include taking and passing a grueling three-day exam comprised of five separate sections. I started planning my approach by acquiring insights from others that had already passed the exam. I gained an understanding of the registration requirements; I searched for and selected the best exam location for me, I learned how the test was structured, and I readied myself for the task ahead. I did not pass any sections on my first try, however, despite this initial setback, I viewed it as a learning opportunity. I knew I needed to adjust my plan to reach my goal.  I had further discussions with peers and discovered they all had different plans for their next steps. I decided that my next step would involve a concentrated study class focusing on two exam sections at a time.  In addition, I really wanted to buy a new car, so I told myself that I would buy the car only after I passed the exam. Passing the CPA exam did require multiple attempts, but I did not give up. I did have to change my plan a few times, but it all paid off, and I passed the exam. I especially loved driving around in my new car.

Mastering the art of self-leadership is an evolving discipline demanding skills like self-awareness, goal setting and planning, leveraging your relationships, and learning from setbacks. Self-Leadership propels you towards goal attainment with conviction – and positions you as role model to others. It serves as the core competency for broader leadership capacity.

First, be a leader of yourself. Only then can you grow to lead others.

David Taylor-Klaus