“The leader is not the one with the monopoly of strengths. The leader is the visionary. The leader is the director of strengths.”
– Elizabeth ‘LizSpire’ Taylor
How often do you self-reflect and for how long? For example
- What are your motivators?
- What are your intentions?
- What are your core strengths and weaknesses?
- What are your core values?
- Do your actions match your core values?
- Why or why not?
- What can you do differently?
Some of the best leaders of modern times not only run cohesive, effective teams but also practise a high degree or self-awareness. You can know your team’s strengths and lead them however this is not all being a leader is. To best lead others in the short- and long-term, one better lead themselves. This needs conscious daily self-reflection and a commitment to investing the time needed to coming up with answers to questions such as those listen above.
A perfect example of such a leader is Elon Musk and Elizabeth Taylor explains why here, noting the importance of building good habits and the power of daily reflection. While knowing yourself might appear different to different people, at root, it’s the same for everyone. Anyone who is willing to learn and grow is capable of building strong teams – it just takes commitment, practice, and personal courage.
You need to understand that your life flows in the direction of your most dominant thoughts. What you think every day is what you will become.” – Elizabeth ‘LizSpire’ Taylor
Elizabeth “Lizspire” Taylor is an Archbishop Tutu Fellow and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants. She has enjoyed a multidisciplinary career, spending fifteen years in UK and Nigeria while being a hands-on coach, mentor, and speaker with a passion to help mid-career professionals set, live through, and accomplish their goals. She is a bibliophile, dog lover, and author many times over, as well as my colleague and friend. You can enjoy our conversation on true leadership here.
Listen to my podcast, please share, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts! Stitcher I TuneIn I Spotify I Google I Apple I iHeart Radio
And check out my ebook “Engage, Relate, Perform–90 Days to Conscious Leadership and Performance Culture”
