Become a Leader for Life

This is my wife Pat. She is now retired after a successful career helping others lead more fulfilling, meaningful and happy lives. It's not been easy following me around (domestically and professionally) and raising two boys in the process, but she is full of life and always learning how to be a better person. Pat is typical of many professional people who spend most of their time in the service of others, enriching the lives of everyone around them. She comes across as authentic and caring and exudes gratitude for everything and everyone in her life.

How did Pat keep up with all the moving targets and challenges that life has thrown at her? Having closely observed her over nearly 40 years it struck me that what she was doing was taking leadership of her own life. She knew how to use her personal power and was very much aware of who she was and what she valued. She could adapt to different situations as if they were natural to her and could establish meaningful relationships with everone she met. It seemed simple, Pat was more concerned with how she did things than what she did. She led by example and you could trust her never to let you down.

Pat is now a Cetified Life Coach.  Click here if you would like to chat.

Becoming a leader for life is about authentic self-expression which I now see operates from four domains . . .

  self awareness (inside-out)

  contextual awareness (outside-in)

  relational awareness (bottom-up)

  power awareness (top-down)

Leadership is about achieving a state of mastery in all four of these domains. Consequently, leadership is not something you do in a particular context, it's something you are in all contexts. It's not about what you think about people as much as how you think about people. It reflects who you are authentically, in terms of your deepest values and beliefs. It is revealed through your words, moods and behaviour.

Authenticity is often judged from the outside-in as the gap between what you say and what you do. Having a position of power, or the ability to perform well, does not therefore make you a leader. It's not about knowing what to do, it's about mastering the art of being someone with integrity who has a vision for how to make the world a better place for those around you. Hence any success you experience draws from on your Leadership for Life. 

THE ENTRIES BELOW ARE SAMPLES ONLY.  TO ACCESS ALL THE ITEMS YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED SUBSCRIBER OF THE LIFE LEADERS DIGEST - REGISTER NOW ?