How to Lead from the Inside Out
Welcome again to 3-2-1 Take Action, where we share 3 thoughts on Leadership, 2 tips and 1 action point to help you take your leadership to the next level!
Before we look at the 3 thoughts for today, it’s important to lay this foundation: Before you can effectively lead anybody else, you will need to lead yourself first – this is what it means to lead from the inside, out.
The 3 thoughts for today are embedded in a quote from John Maxwell:
A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way
A leader knows the way
This does not mean that you need to know all the answers to the questions or challenges that face you or your team. But you need to know who ask to get those answers or where to go to get more information.
A leader goes the way
This means that you don’t just tell your team or yourself what needs to be done. You proceed to do what needs to be done. Remember, actions speak louder than words. Any leader who doesn’t follow through on what they say is considered a hypocrite. You don’t want to be that kind of a leader. n
A leader shows the way
After you’ve been able to lead yourself, you earn the credibility to begin to lead others and show them the way as well. I’ve seen leaders who, maybe out of insecurity, do not show the way, but a good leader that you want to be is that kind of leader that knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
To effectively know the way, go the way or show the way, a leader needs to know how to ‘take action’. We can all agree that taking action is important, however we can all also agree that taking action is not easy because of certain barriers.
Now let’s discuss two of these barriers and how to overcome them:
Leadership Tip 1
Overcoming Inertia.
Inertia refers to a tendency to do nothing or just remain unchanged. Everyone faces this at different times and to take actions that grow our leadership, we need to overcome inertia. A way to overcome inertia is to develop a strong dissatisfaction for the current situation and a strong desire for something new. I have found that when you’re able to feed your emotions to have a dissatisfaction for the current and a desire for the new, you are more likely to overcome inertia.
Leadership Tip 2
Sustaining Momentum.
Many people struggle to generate or sustain momentum, and this impacts their ability to lead. A way to sustain momentum is by celebrating progress and not just the end product. Track progress towards your leadership goals and celebrate the small wins along the journey towards your bigger leadership goals.
Action Step
Think about ‘know the way’, ‘go the way’ and ‘show the way’ and identify where you need to overcome inertia or sustain momentum and apply the tips shared in this post.
You can watch the video to gain more insights.
Share this post with someone you think it can help. Watch a related video on this to reinforce the things shared.
