"...the hardest person you will ever have to lead is yourself."

 

A thought by Chad Veach from his book, I Work with People (p. 18). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

I can see that.

Chad says, "Even if your team includes a difficult person—or a bunch of them—the hardest person you will ever have to lead is yourself. If you can figure out how to lead you, you’ll be able to lead anyone regardless of their age, experience, or qualifications."

He asks then answers, "What does it mean to lead yourself? First, leading yourself means developing self-control. Self-control is your ability to keep yourself—your emotions, thoughts, goals, and motives—in check and in balance. Are you going to lead from your mind or your emotions? Your will or your whims? Your calling or your comfort? Your spirit or your flesh? When you lead yourself, you become the protagonist rather than the victim of your own story: instead of letting life determine your feelings, thoughts, and reactions, you determine them."

That's good, "you becomes the protagonist rather than the victim of your own story..."

He continues, "Leading yourself means you lead by example. In other words, you practice what you preach. You are authentic, consistent, and honest. You walk beside people rather than pushing them from behind; you take them with you rather than sending them out alone.

"To be clear, I’m not saying you have to be a superhero or the expert at everything. That’s unrealistic and, honestly, dysfunctional—it’s probably not wise for you to try to teach your accountant how to balance the books or tell your graphic designer how to make great art. But when it comes to values, to vision, to integrity, to bravery, to hard work, to humility, and even to following the rules, the best leaders lead by example."

Here's another one, "Leading yourself means pursuing personal growth. You have to be strong to lead: mentally strong, morally strong, emotionally strong. It’s difficult to lead with authenticity if you are hiding a guilty conscience. It’s difficult to stay focused on the future if you’re bitter and have a grudge against someone from your past. And it’s difficult to stay focused on achieving a goal if you haven’t learned to say no to the distractions and sideshows that line the way.

"No one is born a perfect leader: it’s something you grow into. You have to learn and mature in many areas over time. This kind of growth is normal, and it should be embraced, even celebrated."

He later says, "Ultimately, it is no one else’s responsibility to lead you—that responsibility is yours alone. Even if you report to a leader, mentor, boss, or other authority figure, the most that leader can do is guide your external actions; you are responsible for the internal you. And the better you lead yourself, the better you will lead others."

And that is so true. We are responsible for the internal us and it is so important, isn't it, for us to see that the better we lead ourselves, the better we will lead others?

Yes, yes!