Understanding your value and how your leadership influences others starts with you
The past two weeks have been filled with reminders of how precious life is and how easy it is to get wrapped up in things that don’t really matter. First there were the rains that fell across QLD and NSW, impacting most in these areas and creating challenges that were often out of our control. Then we had the passing of two sporting icons within days of each other, who were both true leaders in their own ways… often creating time to mentor younger players and inspiring them to continue to believe in themselves.
As leaders, and we are all leaders, you are asked to spend so much of your time focusing on what others need, what’s going to help them succeed, what’s going to solve their pain points. Often it’s easy to lose sight of what matters to you and where your ship is sailing. See… you, your time, your experience and your knowledge is valuable when you choose to value it. When you value these things, others will then do the same… as they also see them as valuable.
So, as you, your time, your experience and your knowledge are so valuable, how do you develop the ability to focus on you and adding extra amounts of value?
Here are 3 ways we’ve found to make this happen:
- “I am the expert in me” starts with you – the reason people gravitate towards you is because of what you offer. Whether it’s skills, personality, your energy, your ability to build trust… these are the things that you can control and influence. You are the one who knows you best, knows your strengths, knows how you are able to influence those around you. By being the expert, and seeing that your expert qualities add value to others, makes bringing them to the table even more valuable. Be the expert and bring your A game to add value to those around you !
- Your time is valuable – when you focus on the things that matter to you, filling your time with things that you love to do… others also benefit and grow. If that means taking a couple of days to rest and recharge, you benefit and those around you get a recharged person who can operate with a clear mind and stay on the path of delivering a vision. If it means having someone take work off you so you can focus on higher level work, that too is valuing your time. This adds productivity and profitability to your space… something that businesses recognise in challenging times. Prioritise where you add the most value and choose to do even more of this.
- Learn to say NO well – when you value you and your time, you are able to recognise those things that should be taken on by others. By saying no to these tasks which aren’t valuing you or your time, it frees your time up to fill it with more valuable activities. Spending more time focussing on growing, mentoring, strategic direction will see the senior leaders identifying more value add opportunities, and their teams getting to do more high level work (which is being given up by the senior leaders). Saying no creates space to fill with things you want to say yes to.
Understanding how valuable you are starts with you valuing you. Focusing on you and the path you want is actually helping those around you, as by you being clear it makes it easier for them to see where you are going and they can see their path. Saying No (or no not yet) and building your self awareness of your expert abilities, will be your sharpest tools to shaping your journey.
Forward this on to those who would benefit from hearing this and want to create a journey on their terms. We love helping quality humans see what’s possible for them and reaching more of these people is our mission.
Thank you, stay safe and have an amazing week.