Leaders! Are you Being the Best that you can be? The 3 Building Blocks to Personal Mastery

Some of you will have heard me say this before; leadership is work in progress. By that I mean we are always being confronted with new situations and new challenges to take on. This may be in the form of a team member who requires some additional support and mentoring, a stakeholder who isn’t on board yet or a new project which requires you to learn some new skills or approach things differently. 

There are 2 approaches to all of these situations:

1.    To be reactive and let the situation control and dictate what you do and where you go, or:

2.    To be proactive and take charge, which requires you to first of all take charge of your self. Not until you take charge of yourself can you begin to take charge of others or the task in hand.

One of my fundamental beliefs is that you cannot lead and develop others until you first learn to lead and develop your self. This is so important because the only thing you have control of is you!!

Every human is a free spirit and has choice, so all you can ever do is help those around you make the right choice – for them.

I realise that this may be a revelation for some of you and if you stop and think about it I’m sure you’ll agree.

When it comes to leadership then the first place to start is with YOU!!

If you want to continue to be at the top of your game you have to constantly review where you are and how you are doing.

Being Proactive

This is a discipline based on a number of key principles and practices:

·       Your personal vision,

·       Your personal mission,

·       Playing to your strengths

·       Understanding your limiting beliefs and overcoming them

Another term for this is personal mastery.

Peter Senge says, “Personal mastery goes beyond competence and skills…it means approaching one’s life as a creative work, living life from a creative as opposed to a reactive viewpoint.”

Senge links personal mastery to effective leadership stating, “The core leadership strategy is simple: be a model. Commit yourself to your own personal mastery.”

It is about creating what one wants in life and in work.

Practitioners of personal mastery exhibit the following characteristics;

·  Their vision is more of a calling than a good idea

·  They have a sense of purpose that lies behind their goals

·  They see current reality as an ally, not an enemy

·  They are extremely inquisitive

·  They work with, the forces of change

·   They feel connected to others and to life itself

·  They feel they are part of a larger process that they can influence not control

The Building Blocks

The path to continuous improvement requires self-discipline around three building blocks that I call the 3 C’s:

Competence : Do you have all the skills you need to do your current role? As a leader these tend to be soft skills rather than knowledge based skills. Do you have sufficient knowledge to be able to do your current role or the one you aspire too? How often do you stop and reflect?

Do you know what your next area of growth or stretch is?

Do you engage in regular feedback from those around you?

Confidence : Do you feel confident in all areas of your job and your life? In what situations do you not feel confident? Are you in the driving seat or is someone else? If you are not feeling confident what is holding you back? What limiting beliefs are getting in the way? What assumptions are you making?

Commitment : How motivated and dedicated are you to your role? What de-motivates you? What areas, if any, are you less committed to or tolerating? It is about taking responsibility for the direction that your life is going to take. Are you taking action that moves you forward?

Take some time to explore this. You may surprise yourself and discover how self aware you are or identify your next area of growth.

The path to being the best you can be guides you to being more aware of your beliefs, attitudes and behaviour. It enables you to accept yourself and be responsible for your action, attitude, and thought and the impact you have.

Wherever you are on your journey take time to first celebrate all your achievements, something we often forget to do; and then decide what’s the next stretch for you?

Your decision will not only make you a better leader who inspires others to grow, your improvement will influence others and eventually change the world!

"From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do -- now." 

Epictetus