What are the principles that guide your life and decisions? What are the lines you absolutely will not cross based on your beliefs? How do you consistently stay in alignment with yourself?
Every great leader that you have ever read of is guided by a set of beliefs and principles. I am assuming that you are reading this to learn how you can develop some leadership values that will make you a more effective leader. I am not just referring to being in a position of leadership but also how you conduct yourself in every important area of your life. The leaders who inspire you do not practise their values only when they are working but also demonstrate these values especially when they are not working. Leadership values are reflected in everything a person does and in every area of their life. In this article, you will learn how to stay in your integrity even in times of crisis. You will learn to attract the right people into your life and career. You will learn of the habits that help to build effective leadership values. You will learn how to collaborate with others with less friction and tension. You will become more clear in your approach to life. Below are some tips that will help you develop high quality values to provide a roadmap for you to become a better leader.
Be prepared to invest time and resources in yourself and your dreams. For whatever you want, be willing to give something in order to get it. The law of the universe demands that you sow seeds in order to reap anything of great value. The question now is who is mentoring you? Whom are you mentoring? Are you currently enrolled in any leadership program? If not, then what are you waiting for? Are you currently working with a mentor or coach? Do you have a plan to get better as a leader? Do you have someone qualified providing you sound advice and good counsel? This is one of the fastest ways to develop your leadership skills and gain wisdom.
To truly love yourself and others, you have to set boundaries. If you don’t express yourself truthfully about what you want, how you feel and who you truly are to those people who matter to you then how do you expect them to know when they have crossed the line? How do you expect them to fully see you? How do you expect them to respect your boundaries if you haven’t clarified it for them? Do those you love and care about know what makes you happy? Do they know what hurts your feelings? Do you communicate to them honestly when you are not comfortable with their actions and behaviours towards you? Do you let people know what your values are and what you really care about? Do you let them know when their words hurt your feelings? Do you know how to ask for what you want without being afraid or feeling like you are making others uncomfortable? Are you often worried about disappointing those you love and care about that you often disappoint yourself? An effective leader is also a good communicator. Start by writing out the things you care about and the things people have done in the past that hurt your feelings. Next, practice communicating the items one at a time. Start with those closest to you like your partner, best friends, good colleagues and then expand to others in your social network.
To grow also means to take personal responsibility and accountability. When things go your way you should acknowledge and celebrate them. If and when things do not go your way, you should also learn to accept them and learn from them so that you can do better. Do not reject experiences that do not favour you. The more you take responsibility for your triumphs and failures, the more resilient you become. Both aspects help shape who you are.
Be a giver. Be generous with your knowledge, words, time and resources because you exercise the great abundance of the universe when you do. Be grateful for the good things that happen to you. Find someone to mentor and share with the important things that you are learning in life. At the same time, find someone who can also share with you the things that can help you grow.
Always make sure that you know the essence of why you are alive and awake everyday. Be clear on your definite chief purpose. What is the main goal that you are currently working on? What gets you excited every morning? What is the biggest project that you are currently working on? Whose life is better because you are in it? Whose life are you helping to make better everyday? Who are you teaching what you know?
Always do more than you are paid for. Give more than you get. Do it consistently because you live in a mindset of abundance. Don’t limit yourself, your talents, your time, your value and your life only to how much someone will pay for it. Make sure that you are consistently creating high quality value for others no matter how much you may be getting paid.
Have a tribe of people, networks and mentors who value spiritual intelligence and wisdom. Find people whose lives inspire you and be sure to commune with them and sharpen each other’s swords. You do yourself a disservice when you do not learn from people who know more than you. Be as enthusiastic to learn and gain wisdom from a circle of mentors, friends, colleagues, group or associates who can help you grow. Find your tribe. They are out there waiting for you.
Practice a positive mindset. A positive mindset is a powerful tool to practice daily. A positive mindset is full of hope, love, enthusiasm, inspiration, wisdom and optimism. A positive mindset is free of greed, jealousy, envy, superstitions, ignorance, intolerance, hate, anger, shame and other lower frequency vibrations. Practising daily meditation, fitness exercises, yoga or working with a good therapist. Engaging in creative activities that stimulate your mind, body and spirit are some of the ways to develop and maintain a positive mindset.
Be open to failure for there lies the greatest lessons. Don’t be afraid of defeat because you learn a valuable lesson every time. Free yourself by staying open to learning from your adversaries and defeats. They are tests that life uses to make you wiser and stronger. Reflect on your defeats if any and use them as insights and wisdom for future events. Defeat is only permanent when you quit. Keep going and you are still in the game.
Be consistent with your spiritual practice through daily meditation. Study shows that 15 mins of meditation twice a day helps you stay in balance and within the order of the universe. You recognize the infinite intelligence of the universe when you can see yourself and everything that exists around you as one in your moment of mindfulness. This will help you keep things in perspective.
Become the person and the things that you most want to attract. Whatever energy you put out is what comes back to you. Negativity attracts negativity. Positivity attracts positivity. What sort of energy are you putting out? Are you intentional about the quality of energy that you are putting out? Are you putting out the energy of fear and cynicism or that of hope and optimism? Be mindful of the energy that you are putting out.
Exercise your faith daily. Whatever your main goal in life is, practice visualisation exercises where you can see yourself achieving the goal you most desire. You can do this in the middle of your meditation practice or separately. Take a few minutes each day to practise this exercise, I can assure you that it works. It helps to bring to clear focus that which you are looking for. Do the inner work as well as take daily action towards your goal. Both are important.
Practice positive affirmations. Speak power to your body, mind and spirit. Example: I am full of peace and well being. My life is in balance and all things are working in my favour no matter what. I live in peace and wellness. My life is full of love, hope and blessings. I am free and deeply loved. My mind and my actions produce extraordinary results. Use whatever words of affirmation that energises you.
Take daily action in the direction of your chief goal. Make sure that everyday you are doing at least one thing that is helping you move your main goal in life forward. Be conscious of your daily action and ensure that your schedule includes at least 30 minutes to a few hours of you taking daily action in the direction of your chief goal.
Write down your ideas. Record your thoughts and plan. Don’t just think about them or talk about them but take note of them on paper or in your electronic devices. Put your important thoughts and ideas in a place that you can easily reflect upon them. If it’s not on record then it isn’t real. If it’s not on paper then it isn’t serious. If you haven’t taken the time to write out your ideas, how do you expect someone to take the time to listen to your ideas or help you realise them? Becoming the person who attracts the things they want applies in this case. If you want others to take you seriously then you must take your ideas seriously. Take your dreams and your goals seriously by documenting and reflecting on them weekly.
Your art, work and creation is not you but an extension of you. You are deeply connected to the things that you do but to equate the things that come out of you as exactly who you are is misguided. The things that you do are only an extension of who you are. They do not solely define you. For example, doing one good thing doesn’t immediately turn you into a good person just as simply doing one bad thing doesn’t automatically make you a bad person. Although this should not be a licence to act poorly. Life is continuously unfolding and you are creating yourself everyday by the many things that you create and do. The things you do are an extension of you. When you fully immerse yourself in this principle then your life will be operating on its next level. You will free yourself from judgement and allow yourself to live more fully. The essence of your talent, creativity and work is to serve others and make the world a better place and that is the work that you must do everyday for the rest of your existence. So set aside your ego and begin to truly serve as a leader that gives their best knowing that some days you may fall short but your journey continues.
You are a sum-total of your dominating thoughts and actions. The person you are today is as a result of the seeds you have sown through your words, thoughts, beliefs and actions in the past. If you have sown the seeds of well being then those are the fruits you will be manifesting today. Do you want different fruits? Do you want to reap more of the same fruits? The more important questions are: What fruits do you want to reap in the future? What seeds do you have to start planting today in order to reap the fruits that you want to manifest in the future? Take a moment to answer these questions.
Live with a clear intention of who you want to be and what kind of relationship you want to have with the world around you. All actions have consequences. Is your intention to hurt or to heal? Do your actions match your intentions? Be clear on what you want before diving into it. When you set your intentions to align with your values then you will often find yourself in favourable circumstances and with outcomes that satisfies you. Do not do things without clarifying why it means something to you. Having intentions that guide your actions helps to create a more meaningful life.
All of these principles when practised even sparingly will help you develop effective leadership values that will improve every important area of your life.
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