Are you leading like you?

And an insight into my why!

Are you leading like you? 

Take a moment to look back over the past day, week, or month. When did you feel fully alive, and in flow in your work? When were you giving your best and achieving results?

And also notice, without judgement, the times when you didn’t feel like yourself, you were frustrated, exhausted, or feeling like you are not good enough. If you didn’t feel like yourself, who were you trying to be more like?  Perhaps your manager/ a leader you admire/ someone your team would like/ respect/ appreciate more/ or who you think your boss wants you to be? 

This happens to us all, I have been through many times of feeling that I am not enough, that I’m not good enough, that I’m not doing enough. 

And I have come to understand that this is rarely true. It’s not that I am a perfect finished article, with nothing more to learn. That will never be the case, I will always have more to learn, more rough edges to smooth off, more maturity to find. But, it’s not true that I’m not good enough. 

I think the reason I’m drawn to painting animals is that they are always being perfectly themselves!

I know that my greatest growth comes when I lean into who I am, into my natural strengths. Whatever challenge I am struggling with, it is by looking at my strengths that I am most likely to find the way through. A way through that will stretch and grow me, but not overwhelm or exhaust me. A way through that comes from who I am and, as well as being hard work, will energise me.

And so, this is my mission - to lead like me, to live like me, to live life in full colour

and it is what I want to help you to do too.

This starts with noticing who you are, what makes you tick, what do you need to be at your best, what do you find hard, and yes even to notice when am I at my worst? Because our strengths and weaknesses are often highly connected. Our strengths, when overplayed become weaknesses; and our weaknesses are often great clues to our strengths.

For example, my tendency to want to find the ‘perfect’ way of doing things is a strength that can contribute to excellence and efficiency. And, it can sometimes lead to me expecting too much of others, to being closed off to new ideas and  innovation. I have learnt to say ‘you might be right’, and that simple phrase has gradually opened me up to the possibility that they actually might be right!

It’s not that I need to lose or correct this strength. It is a great strength, it is key to much of my success. But it can also trip me up in relationships at work or at home. I need to master it well, and learn to use it judiciously.

If this topic piques your interest, I’d love to hear from you. This is at the core of my work to help you thrive as an individual and lead a successful team by leading like you. What does this bring up for you? How can I help? Let me know below, and I’ll add your question to my ideas for future posts.