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.

----------------------------------------------------
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.
http://www.taking-the-reins.com . Contact
mailto:jean@Taking-the-reins.com .