Leadership is Who You Are

I'm honored to have a guest post by Alan Shelton.  It's Leadership is Who You Are.  Alan is the author of Awakened Leadership, and his guest post is about how the key to effective leadership is to be more of who you already are.

It's a powerful idea.  Instead of changing who you are to be a more effective leader, you leverage who you are, and you bring out more of it, in an authentic way.

One of the most useful leadership trainings I had years ago, focused on bringing more of who you are to the table.  The idea was to use your unique experience and values as a strength.

In my example, one of my unique experiences was that I was a kickboxer.  Sports and personal growth are important to me.  What that means is that when I lead a project, I bring a personal growth perspective to it.  I find ways for people to spend more time in their strengths and I find ways for them to grow, while we take on new challenges.  I encourage people to push past their limits and expand their capabilities.  I encourage them to think of stories in their day to day, that reflect their private victories.  I use little wins as progress so that people flourish.

That's what it means to bring more of you to the table to play your best leadership game.  It's connecting to your values, and using your unique experience to create an authentic arena for growth and greatness.  It unleashes more of your power because you are going with your grain, instead of against it, and you are creating experiences that are congruent with your values.  In other words, you get what you project, and you get more of what you focus on.