Leadership Is Not A Position

Instead Leadership is a way of being.

Customer Service Manager.. Inventory Manager.. Supply Chain Vice President.. Business Consultant... Instructional Designer... V.P. Of Manufacturing ...CEO and CFO... Project Manager

These are all positions and in these positions you may or may not exhibit leadership skills. It is possible to perform these roles and not be a leader. I didn't say it was possible to perform these roles excellently and not be a leader however. In any of these roles, you have role power and your "reports" are forced (assuming they want to keep their job) to listen to what you have to say and do at least most of what you ask them to. That has nothing to do with real leadership and your power goes away the instant the role position goes away.

How much better would it be for you to have the ability to lead others by who you are and the messages you send out with your voice, your body, your energy, your mind and your spirit? In other words who you authentically are! That means who you really are at the very core of your being. Not a polite face or a political façade but the feelings and emotions that come from your core and therefore creates an aura of confidence and harmonious desire to be in your presence and follow you because they believe in you, trust you and respect you.

So how do you become this leader? The first step is to become more self aware. How do you present yourself, how does your presence affect others…do they feel at ease around you…do they know..like…and trust you? Or are they tense and unsure around you? Do you know what your energy or your body language is telling the people you want to lead?

I have found the only way to have more self awareness and to exhibit great leadership skills is to slow down, learn, listen and begin to trust my own body. Only as you trust what your body tells you and listen to it can you exhibit harmonious energy that literally engulfs your potential followers. Leadership is only possible if you have followers. Getting and keeping followers is only possible if you embark on a journey of self awareness and management. This is the first step in your leadership goals and the first step in Emotional Intelligence.

Working with horses has taught me to have more self awareness and to learn to manage my whole being which means: my body, my energy, my emotions, my real intention, my mind, my spirit, my feelings and my thoughts. A horse responds instinctively to who you are on the inside no matter what "face" you put on for the outside world. The horse responds by being excited, unruly, antsy, not listening, bucking, running, not moving at all when asked, by being dull or by ignoring you to name a few ways they respond to you. They also respond to any uncertainty, fear or lack of self confidence you are feeling regardless of how much you attempt to cover it over. In other words they respond to what is authentically going on inside you.

Horses respond to you the way people around you want to. But people have been trained by years of hiding their emotions and putting on their polite face to attempt to hide how they are really feeling around you. While the horse will openly show you how they feel about you. The horse has a heightened instinctive and intuitive sense and no social or political barriers to showing their responses. The person will respond internally. Now don't for a minute think that they are not responding to who and what you are exhibiting just because you may or may not pick up on these internal responses. It is these internal responses to you and your leadership skills that will make or break you as a leader.

It is only through self awareness and self management that you can become the leader who people want to follow! Emotional Intelligence is as Great Leadership is not a Position but a way of Being. Learning leadership skills begins with becoming more self aware. Self awareness and management is the foundation on which you build your leadership skills. … and possibly more…. important to becoming a great leader as any technical skill you might have in your role position.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jean Starling

About the Author/Author Bio

Jean Starling has an MBA in International Business and is an author, speaker, trainer, business consultant and coach. With over 20 years in corporate leadership, management, consulting and training she is an expert at helping individuals and businesses reach their goals. Author of Taking the Reins, a book of stories that teach leadership in a new more innovative way. www.taking-the-reins.com . Contact mailto:jean@Taking-the-reins.com .

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