Awareness

Chapter 226

“Leadership is self-knowledge. Successful leaders are those who are conscious about their behavior and the impact it has on the people around them.” - Betsy Myers 

Leadership is a tough gig. Under the best of circumstances it is difficult, but those who do it best are those self-aware individuals who understand the nuances of how their presence and influence impact those people that are with them on any given occasion. This is sometimes called “presence” or bearing or demeanor or charisma. Call it what you like, but I am arguing that we leaders need to be very in tune with how people are responding to us.

Not because we want something, or are seeking some kind of personal gain, but because you want people to follow, to get behind a change-the-world process and makes stuff happen. Any astute leader monitors how they are affecting the people they are with or are speaking to, at any given moment. I remember about eight years ago when I became acutely aware of this and how powerful it was in my life. 

I had recently made some fairly significant changes to my weight and health and I looked different and felt different than I had in my previous 25 years of doing these big speaking gigs. The change in their response to me was electrifying. I was given power that I had never known even existed before. The content was largely the same excellent quality as it always had been, what was different was me. I was shining and energized and perfectly weight appropriate for the first time in my adult life, and the difference was stunning.

There is no going back now.