Q: How does who we are show up in leadership?
A: To answer this, I'll outline examples and common ways our selves often show up and help or hinder what we intend to do. Everyday situations provide many opportunities for us to practice and develop our best use of self. Each interaction or proclamation made by a leader carries more weight with many employees. How we greet and acknowledge others, how much we listen vs. tell, how concerned we are with how others are doing and what they need or our ways to sharing what we want, believe or are inquiring about, all have impacts on those around us.
Our behavioral choices affect how they feel, perceive us as a leader, are engaged in the interaction and afterward, and how well they will continue to work. We all need to consider the leadership role as even more important in our current fast-changing and complex world.
We need to watch for signs we may be causing unintended consequences in others around us including things like alienation, low assertiveness, lack of empowerment, lack of motivation, questioning self-confidence or resistant anger. It helps when we are aware of what's going on inside us and developing decent relationships with whom we work closest.
More difficult, stressful or challenging situations are where we have even more to manage and learn. First, these are the situations that can raise anxiety, vulnerabilities, fears, and lower our confidence, which can override our rationale selves.
So, in these situations who we are comes more into the situation and how we feel, think and act can become modified. Habitual behaviors are wired in our nervous system and can override any other thinking or planning, if we are triggered with quick reactions. We can easily lose some emotional control, not listen to others, overreact and be fearful.
Our experiences and intentional learning are the journey to becoming our best selves and applying that to our roles as leaders (or any other professional career).
It is important to know as much as possible about who we are and what's happening in situations so we can use behavioral flexibility to provide our best outcomes.
