IT Leadership

No matter your role, leading yourself effectively is paramount to your success. Even if you have a leadership title, personal leadership is a prerequisite for leading others. This is especially true when faced with change. Given the pace of change in most industries, this ability is rapidly becoming a core skill. This article explores the mindset and practices to lead yourself through change, regardless of your context or the changes you face.

Before diving into the how, let’s consider the why. Why is leading yourself so crucial, especially in the face of change? When we lead ourselves effectively, we inherently become more confident, resilient, and authentic. These qualities manifest no matter our environment or the challenges we face. When we feel confident and resilient, we’re better equipped to anticipate and address our customers’ evolving needs and expectations. We’re also more likely to model and inspire resilience in our team members, helping them navigate the changes they’re facing. Lastly, we enhance our ability to make tough decisions, take calculated risks, and choose short-term pain for long-term gain. By leading ourselves first, we lay the foundation for effective leadership, no matter what lies ahead.

The Mindset of Personal Leadership

The mindset of personal leadership is one of clarity, humility, and accountability. It’s a commitment to continuously develop self-awareness, wisdom, and courage. It’s not something you accomplish once and check off your to-do list. Instead, it’s an ongoing journey that evolves as you grow. This mindset is also rooted in humility – a deep understanding of your limitations, and a commitment to improving what you can control. Finally, it’s a commitment to personal accountability. When you lead yourself, you own your decisions, actions, and outcomes. When you embody these elements, you cultivate the right mindset to lead yourself effectively.

The Practices of Personal Leadership

There are several practices to cultivate personal leadership, including:

Practice 1: Clarity of Purpose

Clarity of purpose is an unwavering understanding of why you do what you do, and a conviction that it’s valuable and worth doing. When faced with change, uncertainty, or adversity, your purpose anchors you. Your belief in its importance sustains your motivation, despite the chaos around you. Your purpose need not be complex nor do you need multiple purposes. In fact, the simpler you can articulate it, the more easily you can communicate it to others. A good purpose statement is concise, inspirational, and easy to remember. Your clarity of purpose is essentially your “North Star” – a guiding light in the fog of uncertainty.

Practice 2: Know Your Values

Your personal values are a foundational element of your leadership. They’re a subset of beliefs that guide your behaviors and decisions. When you’re clear on your values, you have a lens through which you can make decisions, especially amidst uncertainty. When you’re facing a change that’s not clear, a solid understanding of your values helps you make tough decisions with integrity. For example, if you value collaboration, you’ll seek input from your team members, even when facing a time-sensitive decision. Understanding your top 1-3 values and weaving them into your leadership is paramount.

Practice 3: Embrace Vulnerability

Vulnerability is a core component of resilience, and it’s a strength, not a weakness. It’s about being honest about your limitations, assumptions, and risks. It’s also about recognizing the parts of your leadership that are not yet strong and may need enhancement. Demonstrating vulnerability allows others to do the same, creating a culture of psychological safety. This is crucial when facing change, and when making decisions that affect others. It’s important to note that vulnerability is different from weakness. It’s a willingness to engage in difficult conversations, take corrective action when necessary, and openly share information. These actions build trust and foster a culture of honesty and openness.

Practice 4: Take Care of Yourself

Personal leadership starts with taking care of yourself, so leadership becomes sustainable. This includes physical, mental, and emotional self-care, as well as nurturing your purpose and values. It’s about building stamina to sustain your performance and resilience over the long term. Self-care looks different for everyone and may include things like daily exercise, personal retreats, or prioritizing your mental health. Taking care of yourself isn’t a luxury or an afterthought. It’s a prerequisite for leadership, especially during times of change. When you prioritize self-care, you inherently bring your best self to your leadership and those you lead.

Practice 5: Continual Learning

Part of taking care of yourself is nurturing a commitment to continual learning. This means developing your skills and knowledge to enhance your leadership ability. This can involve a variety of disciplines, such as reading books and articles, attending seminars, listening to podcasts, or taking online courses. Continual learning also means seeking feedback from others and being open to constructive criticism. Feedback helps you identify areas for improvement and enhance your strengths. It also helps you uncover biases or blind spots that you may not be aware of.

Leading Others Through Change

Working effectively with others is an essential element of leading through change. In fact, it’s a culmination of your personal leadership practices in action. Here are some considerations for leading others through change:

People Experience Matters

Humans have a built-in aversion to change, especially when it’s imposed. A key part of leading others through change is recognizing and addressing the emotional impact on individuals. This aspect is often referred to as the “people experience” of change. You inherently understand the organizational mindset behind the change, but your team members likely do not. Your job is to help them see the rationale behind the change without sugarcoating it. Then, help them understand how it affects them personally. Acknowledging and addressing their emotional journey is critical to their ability to move forward.

Fostering a Learning Culture

A learning culture is an environment that supports sharing knowledge within an organization, promoting a free flow of information and ideas. This environment empowers team members to embrace change, take risks, and learn from failures. Creating this culture begins with you. Modeling the way means openly sharing your own learning, especially your failures. This removes the stigma from failure, opening the door for others to share their lessons learned. As a result, you collectively develop the skills to navigate change.

Transparency and Open Communication

Change almost always involves a element of the unknown. It may be the timing of a change, or the specific details of a decision. Regardless, be transparent about what you know and what you don’t know. This builds trust and sustains confidence, especially when you also acknowledge the potential risks and impacts. Change can also create a flood of information, much of which may be speculative or inconsistent. It’s essential to control the message as much as possible, correcting misinformation as you receive new details. Be proactive in your communication, and don’t wait for people to ask before filling in the gaps.

Leverage Strengths

Change can amplify stress on individuals and teams. It’s imperative to recognize the strengths of your team members so you can assign tasks and adapt to the changing environment. This may require reassigning roles or responsibilities, even temporarily. Encourage your team to leverage their strengths as well, supporting them in doing so. This reduces the pressure on any one individual or area, allowing space for others to shine.

Modeling Resilience

Modeling resilience is critical when facing challenges and changes. As a leader, your team will naturally look to you to gauge the tone and energy of the organization. If you model optimism, confidence, and a solution-focused mindset, you set the stage for your team to respond in kind. Especially during times of uncertainty, it’s crucial to remain calm and project optimism. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t acknowledge challenges, but that you maintain a focus on solutions and a positive path forward.

Conclusion

Leading yourself first is the foundation of leadership, especially during times of change. When you embody the mindset and practices of personal leadership, you inherently become more confident, resilient, and authentic. You inspire the same in your team members, no matter the circumstances. When faced with change, you’re well-equipped to navigate the unknowns. You make tough decisions with conviction and humility, taking the long-term view even when it’s uncomfortable. You become the change that needs to happen, embodying the characteristics you want to see in your team. Leading yourself first is not a luxury or an afterthought – it’s the cornerstone of sustainable leadership.