In the last few years, I have been increasingly interested in the subject of leadership. To lead yourself and your life well, you don’t necessarily have to be in a leadership role in a company. Real leadership is remembering that you have choice in how you respond to everything that comes your way in life. When we lead from our innate wisdom and clarity, we can stay accountable to the choices we make and choose wisely. A person who leads and conducts themselves with integrity and from a calm, compassionate, and authentic place can have such an impact on everyone around them. We all influence one another, whether that is being a stay at home mom/dad or an executive with 300 employees underneath him.
How does one lead well?
Life can often feel overwhelming, there are many tasks and responsibilities to juggle, we have the constant of technology, we are responsible to friends, family, and we can’t give or support all of our life, if we aren’t taking good care of ourselves emotionally and physically.
In order to live a satisfying life, it is important to create enough gaps and space throughout the day to continually align with what has priority in my life (My health, my family, this big project at work?). What has priority will be different at work, for our own health, and at home, but if we don’t understand what this is, we will get caught up in the busyness of life. Lets get started….
1) What are your top 4 or 5 priorities in my life? (Work/Home)
2) What boundaries do you need to put in place to protect what is most important to you?
This year, I got really clear for myself on my 5 BIG Commitments for the year of 2016. If things were outside of those commitments and priorities, they weren’t a yes and I needed to say No. I have found it challenging to say, “No” because I love being of support and helping when I can, but I can only do so much. There will always be things that come up that will compete for your time and attention, but if you know what is your priority, you can bring your attention back to that and align your actions around those commitments.
Deciding when, where, and how to be accessible for work is an ongoing challenge, particularly for those with families. In my work supporting employees and companies with greater well being, I encourage my students to find appropriate work/home boundaries especially with technology. After attending one of my courses this year, one of my students Dan shared this with me, “When I’m at home, I really am at home,” “I force myself to NOT check my e-mail, take calls, et cetera. I want to give my kids 100% of my attention. But this also works the other way around, because when I’m at work I really want to focus on work. I believe that mixing these spheres too much leads to confusion and mistakes.”
Always being plugged in can erode performance. Another employee from a work-site class shared this in an individual coaching session, “When I take more breaks throughout the day, I notice I have heightened creativity because my mind and body can relax, which can’t happen if I am glued to my desk.” Another executive I am supporting, Nancy pointed out that 24-hour availability can actually hamper initiative in an organization: “If you have weak people who must ask your advice all the time, you feel important. But there is a difference between being truly important and just not letting anyone around you do anything without you.”
How do we lead well?
- We take technology breaks
- We cultivate effective self care routines (healthy food, exercise, meditation, emotional support, sleep, etc.)
- We surf the ups and downs of life with strength
- We practice authenticity with ourselves and thus everyone in our life. We share what is a Yes and what is a NO.
- We communicate with consciousness.
- We surround ourselves with supportive community we can lean on.
Do you aspire to lead well? Yes! Life feels busy and full and you have gotten into some negative habit patterns and are looking to develop new tools and skills.
Much Love,
Carley
