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A core competency of good leaders is understanding oneself. After all, self-knowledge allows us to be able to understand others as well. For most individuals who train to become coaches, the value of the training is as much about their increased self-awareness as it is about their ability to work with others and help them achieve their potential.

Goffee and Jones’ article “Getting personal on the topic of leadership” emphasizes the art of self-awareness, as does Yukl, 2012.  Yukl, 2012 states The theories of ethical leadership emphasize leader values more than behavior, and the long-term welfare and development of followers rather than financial performance. .

Art of Self-awareness
Self-awareness can also help you to persevere as you carry out your plan.  I've found that knowing your business and yourself can also help you to know when to follow your instincts, so you can find the courage to move ahead and ignore the advice of naysayers (Branson, 2013). 

How are the people on your team, with their particular skills and talents, shaping your company and making it different from others? What's special about your product or service? How is your company helping your community and environment? If you're an entrepreneur or business leader and don't have the answers to these questions at the ready, it's time to meet with your team outside the office. Throw a barbecue or dinner, and start up a conversation about what you have done so far and what you want to do.  While the answers will change over time, talking about this now will help all of you to get a sense of where you're going and what you've built so far, helping to prepare you for the next bumps you encounter. And what could be better than having dinner and drinks with your team, reflecting on all you've accomplished and what comes next?

Personally, the differences that distinguish and help me to live and act on the basis of my core values is that I know what is truly important to me and don't let things and people distract.  Personally, my family and inclusive behavior come first, above all other things.  My kids will never be second to my work or school.  Additionally being supportive and inclusive in all of my actions distinguishes me form others.  My goal is for no-one to have a negative things to say about me.  (I shoot for the stars, what can I say?)

My core values outside of 'family first' are equality, humility, honesty, and commitment

 

 

References

 

Branson, R. (n.d.). Self-awareness for Leadership Growth, Entrepreneur.com. Business News & Strategy For Entrepreneurs Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved July 19, 2013, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226863  

Kennedy, D. (2013, June 3). Richard Branson on Self-Awareness for Leadership Growth | Entrepreneur.com. Business News & Strategy For Entrepreneurs | Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226863   

    

Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson. 

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Change Management:
One of the most important and difficult leadership responsibilities is to guide and facilitate
the process of making a major change in an organization. A major change may involve a variety
of different objectives, including attitudes, roles, technology, competitive strategy, economics,
and people (Yukl, 2013).

Dave and Wendy Ulrich, co-authors of The Why of Work have said, “In organizations, meaning and abundance are more about what we do with what we have than about what we have to begin with.”

An abundant organization gives meaning to everyone involved by offering a spiritual as well as physical environment within which to thrive as human beings; their contributions, in turn, create a decisive competitive advantage for the organization while increasing and enhancing its market as well as its social value.  Dave and Wendy Ulrich, go on to state, "When we find meaning in our work, we find meaning in Life".

I know I tend to spend more time at work than anywhere else and to think that the two can be managed separately is crazy!  Every person I come in contact seems to be searching for meaning.  People, in my experience, are more engaged and dedicated to the things they find meaning in, whether it be gardening, volunteering or lending a stranger a helping hand.

In his famous book Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl posits that it "is a peculiarity of man that he must have something significant yet to do in his life, for that is what gives meaning to life" (2004, p. 56).  Frankl argues that we have an incredible power to shape our attitudes and responses to the challenges life presents us and that we inevitably grow thanks to these challenges.

I don't know about you, but I like to think I have the power to steer through challenges and shape my responses to life's curveballs!

If you sit down with a hefty challenge that leadership has faced in your company, and then compare the progress of the challenge against these five practices, you can see very powerful correlations between what went well and poorly and these practices. There are not just touchy-feely "nice to have" ideas. It is clearly demonstrable that working to build a common purpose with the team, celebrating the small victories as you move along a project, building a climate of trust between managers and employees, and recognizing employees when they do an outstanding job are critical to the short term and long term success of an organization. They can often spell the difference between success and failure on a project.  Kouzes and Posner write in The Leadership Challenge: "The executive must find a way to communicate the vision in a way that attracts and excites members of the organization" (1987, p. 106).


Create “Cause” or "Meaning" at Work:
 Many people only go through the motions at work, while trying to stay out of trouble with the boss. Their jobs feel like a meaningless array of busywork foisted upon them by management. Although the quality of work life is low, these people may feel trapped in their jobs for various reasons. It is possible for leaders to create a culture where people are energized because they are fully engaged in the business.

Transformational leadership theory is all about leadership that creates positive change in the followers whereby they take care of each other's interests and act in the interests of the group as a whole.  In the same light, the theory of leading change recognizes that people need to see a better world for themselves before they can respond with maximum energy to a vision. "If people can't see a better world at the end of the journey, don’t expect them to be wild about the process. That’s why it is critical to have people at all levels support the vision. Leaders become the artists who carefully paint the picture of a better future on the canvas of today’s paradigm" (Whipple, 2003, p. 109).

References

Frankl, V. E., & Lasch, I. (2006). Man's search for meaning. Boston: Beacon.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ulrich, D., & Ulrich, W. (2010). The why of work: how great leaders build abundant organizations that win. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Whipple, R. T. (2003). The trust factor: advanced leadership for professionals. Rochester, NY: Leadergrow, Inc..

Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.