Where Leadership Begins

Leadership Begins with Self-Leadership

Throughout the fraternity recruitment process you hear the phrase thousands of times. As prospective new members shuffle in and out of the house, everyone says the same thing:

“I want to be a leader.”

“I want to have an impact in this fraternity.”

“I want to leave behind a lasting legacy.”

Leader. Impact. Legacy. Everyone wants to leave behind a legacy. Everyone wants to be remembered. The problem is most men and women graduate and within a few years are remembered only as another picture on the wall.

What about you? Do you want to be a leader? Do you want to be known for taking your organization to the pinnacle of success? If so, self-leadership is for you.

Why self-leadership?

If we are talking about being a leader that impacts others, why would we begin with self-leadership? Simply put, we must lead ourselves before we can lead others. This is where many potential leaders fall short. Instead of taking the time to develop their character, sharpen their skills, and pursue a meaningful purpose, many young leaders attempt to lead beyond their own ability. The result? Leaders that people don’t want to follow and organizations that don’t see success.

As a leader, the first person you must learn to lead is yourself. As you learn to grow in your character, your knowledge, and your purpose, you will find yourself ready to lead those around you. So what does self-leadership look like? Let’s take a look.

Self-leadership in Action

Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in the world, embodies a lifestyle of self-leadership. While speaking to an investment class in 2000, Buffett offered some life-changing advice in self-leadership. “Read 500 pages every day… That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest.” Although 500 pages daily sounds impossible, it has been done. The result? A man named Warren with a net worth of $86 billion dollars. Warren Buffett is a lifelong learner always seeking to grow his understanding of the market, the world, and how to achieve success.

Practically speaking, self-leadership begins with the development of your character. People don’t want to follow leaders with questionable character. In fact, a leader without strong character is no leader at all.

The Character of a Leader

What does a leader look like? How does he carry himself? How does he or she treat others? No matter where you look, leaders who cultivate their character are more successful than those who don’t. They enable those they lead to grow exponentially.

According to Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, leaders focus on developing character in a few key areas. These areas are:

• Humility: thinking more of others than yourself and seeking what is best for your team.

• Responsibility: learning to take ownership of your own growth, actions, and decisions.

• Discipline: making a commitment and sticking to it no matter how difficult it may be.

• Passion: pursuing your goal with tenacity and an unwillingness to give up.

As you develop yourself in these areas your ability to lead others will multiply. What’s stopping you? Make the commitment today, right now. Relentlessly grow in your character. The more you lead yourself in this area the more others will look to you to lead them.

Check out these resources for further character growth:

Good to Great By Jim Collins

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership By John Maxwell

No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline By Brian Tracy