Here’s an axiom to sit with; Before you lead others well, you must lead yourself well.
Leading by example isn’t the best way to lead. It’s the only way to lead. And you need to start by leading your own life properly.
No matter if you think someone is watching, you must continually do the right thing if you want those coming up behind you to do the same. Like it or not, your followers will define you by who you are in your weakest moments. Leadership should start with overcoming your weaknesses and leading yourself impeccably.
In other words, at the beginning of every day, you need to determine you will direct your own decisions with excellence before you seek to offer any guidance to others.
What does it even mean to lead yourself?
In a way, leadership is a lot like parenting. It is “instruction in the way to go.” This doesn’t mean mandating a specific future for a child, but rather guiding them to make prudent decisions on their own. Like a teacher, you’ll always be there to support. Your proudest moments, however, are when your children learn to walk on their own and they no longer need you. You will hold their hand as long as they need, but not a second longer. This is what it looks like to lead yourself, too.
Find helpful structures and guidance to support yourself, but maintain the aim of independence. Give yourself the freedom to figure life out for yourself when possible. Unless you are heading towards greater self-mastery, you won’t ever have the fortitude to truly guide others. No one wants another blind-leading-the-blind scenario.
Not only does leadership mean leading yourself first, but it also means helping everyone you’re leading to lead themselves effectively. A good leader doesn’t want their followers to be dependent on them. Like any great teacher, they want their students to get past the point of needing them for everything.
In the end, even your followers won’t need you. They will likely stick with you though, if you helped pave the way for them to become the best version of themselves. As a leader, you set a tempo and provide an outlet for them to mature. When this effect compounds on itself, an entire group of people maturing towards their ideal self can’t help but create a better world.
Venturing into Uncharted Territory
Keep in mind, a leader’s role is to pave the way into the unknown.
When was the last time you’ve confidently executed a daunting task that you’ve never done before? You’d be hard pressed to lead people in an avenue you haven’t explored previously or at the very least were fully willing to pursue. This is another reason why leadership by example is the only way. Leaders decrease the path of resistance by giving their followers faith that what they’re trying to accomplish is possible.
If there is no need for you to pave the way… no vision to turn into a reality… then there is no need for a leader. Leadership is somewhat like a courageous expedition into the unknown. The first group that ventures into an uncertain future are the pioneers of an undiscovered land. After they pave the way with success, their actions lay the foundation for what can then become common practice.
Leadership is about taking risks merely because you believe that the potential for a brighter future is worth it. People don’t only need a leader to show them what’s already been accomplished. They could read a history book for that. This is why leaders must be well versed in history, in order to avoid making the same mistakes as those who have gone before them. But not everything is actually unknown about “the unknown.” You can learn how to handle many new situations by observing how those who have traversed before you faced similar nuanced obstacles.
While leaders learn from the past, they know how to balance gleaning insight from the past with foresight into the future. This means that leaders are flexible, willing to amend their course of action to ensure the completion of the goal at hand. Sometimes dealing with the unknown is as simple as adjusting your current route. Other times, it means going where no one has gone before. Either way, leaders do this all strategically – with a vision for where it will end up.
Let’s Go Further
Are you ready to dig deeper into this subject? Check out part two of this article, available now! In it, we will explore the tenacity needed to carve a new path for others to follow.
Courage to you, friends,
A.P.
