Re-Engage With “WHY” You Chose To Be a Leader

Do you remember the exact moment when you stepped into a leadership role?

 Was it when you were promoted on the job, was it when you were passionate about a cause, and was it when you saw that ‘somebody’ had to do something?

 Each one of us wants to make a difference, to have mattered and to have positive influence on others. The desire to be a leader and to lead is a heightened call to show others the way, to help them grow and to evolve the entire system whether it be our workplace, our home, or our community.

 Leadership is call to grow ourselves while we are helping others to grow- this is why I have been called to leadership and why I continue to love the calling. It is a humbling journey of realization that learning never ends and each level of increased understanding builds to expanded levels of connection and contribution.

 This is the “WHY” we are all in leadership

 Many times we forget the ‘why’ and we become sidetracked by the challenging aspects of being a leader. We feel the stress of increasing workloads, we take it personally when our teams underperform and we feel burdened by the never-ending ‘fires’ that we eternally must put out.

 When we reconnect to the ‘why’ we increase our resourcefulness and our ability to tap into the positive aspects of leadership- this isn’t denial- it’s consciously choosing to stay connected to the ‘why’ and to build resources to support our desire to stay optimally resourced in our leadership role.

 We deplete our resources when we focus on our desire to control situations and people. This is old leadership. New and evolved leadership is leveraging resources that include personal, tactical, higher mind and the strengths of others.

 Personal resources can include setting up activities that build up your sense of connection to self and to others.  Personal resources for me include attending regular retreats that integrate mind/body/spirit and having a consistent mindfulness practice. I also read uplifting and consciousness expanding material on a daily basis and in addition I find listening to inspiring music helps me to be more resourceful.

 Tactical resources are those that help you to work ‘smarter’ not harder. Tactical resources for me are leveraging the technological solutions to help me be more efficient. In addition tactical resources are learning systems and methods for improving performance- taking courses to learn technology, researching methods to simplify work processes and leveraging the skills and knowledge of the people on my team.

 Tapping into higher mind eases the stress of the lower mind, which is focused on what the ego has need to control. The higher mind is that part of us that is calm and clear and peaceful. It takes conscious focus to cultivate the higher mind.

When bringing in the higher mind and integrating thought by influencing lower mind with higher mind we are resourcing our mental clarity. Mindfulness, meditation and bodywork can help us tap into higher mind and provide us with a ‘secret weapon’ that helps us manage stress and to be more creative in our solutions.

 Many leaders are so focused on self-preservation and the ‘fight’ response that they forget about the major resource that is his or her people. When we as individuals are fully resourced we can share and empower those we lead and we can see others gifts and strengths. We can actively leverage those we lead to be at his or her most resourceful and therefore transform his or her ability to positively contribute to the overall vision and goals.

 So what is your “why”?

 Consider the following questions, take the time to answer and take inspired action to re-engage with your why:

1.     What drew me to be a leader?

2.     What continues to inspire me to lead?

3.     What causes me to get stressed or off track of my ‘why’?

4.     What can I do to resource myself to be my best version of self as a leader?

 I am passionate about helping leaders to be leaders of change, to transform people through leadership and to ultimately help grow the business.  When helping leaders to reengage with his or her “why” it always confirms my “why” I choose to lead.