Leadership & You #13
Over the past six months I have travelled to every State and Territory conducting a series of Business and Community Leader Consultations. Whilst every region has their own unique issues and challenges to address, what impressed me most was the passion and commitment leaders had for their community, and in particular the next generation coming through. A key recurring message was the importance of being able to lead oneself! This is always the first test of leadership. The ability to lead yourself. Like parenting, this is not a black and white set of skills, but a set of principles, skills and qualities which form over time.
Having a personal leadership charter is important. Knowing what drives and motivates you will help reveal your purpose in life. This takes time to evolve but starts with a set of principles which help filter your decision making and prioritisation of where you spend time.
Leadership is not a part time work habit, but a full-time life quest.
A personal Leadership Charter is not something you dream up and write down over a weekend. It is a set of principles that help you steer how you lead your own life. They form over time and are deeply personal to you. Those who have a personal leadership charter use it to guide their important life decisions, but also use it to influence how they live each day. It is not a set of hard and fast rules, but a set of principles. You do not need many, just enough for you to remember and apply in personal goal setting and in the moment decision making.
Life is made up of many moments, the stories they create, the memories they leave, and the impact they make. What follows are some of the principles I have in my leadership charter. I am not suggesting for one moment that everyone should adopt these. They are just what has helped me in my life, and I share with you just by way of example.
Don’t miss what you can’t get back. Family and friends are everything. I can honestly say I have never missed one of my children’s or wife’s birthdays. It is because I make it a priority to be there. By the time your children are 18, research suggests that parents have spent 75 per cent of their total available of parenting time with their children. So, the growing up years are important and provide special parenting moments. Things like birthdays, school and sporting events, key family milestones and celebrations all play a crucial part of family dynamics. These are usually known well in advance, so diarise them at the start of the year, and work your schedule around them. Being present symbolises what is important to you and your family.
Success at the expense of your family or your health is failure
Have an “as well as” mindset. Life is there to be lived. You only get one crack at life. Rather than an “either or” mindset – explore the art of the possible. Pursue all the experiences life has to offer. As the old saying goes, you need to appreciate winter to appreciate summer. You never know where an experience or opportunity to participate will lead you.
Be curious – don’t be quick to judge. You never know until you give it a go!
Make your health a priority. Your first duty in life is to yourself. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and positive mental wellbeing is a priority for anyone. Your body was designed to move – so move it daily in whatever form you enjoy. Start and end the day slowly, on your terms. Steer clear of reading emails first thing in the morning or last thing at night – it only clutters your mind. Invest in your health and wellbeing as a priority.
If you are OK, you are well placed to help those who are not.
Have a fulfilled diary – not a full diary: Many people think “busy-ness” is a sign of good leadership! Nothing could be further from the truth. It is very easy to fill a diary. It is much harder to filter a diary! Managing the competing priorities in your schedule requires some discipline and leadership. A good filter is to break every day into the things that matter (Family – Work – Personal). Be mindful on being “balanced.” You need to dedicate time to your Family, time for your wellbeing, and time for your career. Everyone has a front-yard and back-yard. Your front-yard is what people see – your career or your “game day face,” whilst your back-yard is your personal life “your inner voice.” It is what drives you! For inner peace both yards must be aligned.
Don’t pursue a career and forget to live a life
Take time out to refresh: No one can work 100% for 100% of the time. Everyone needs time out to refresh and re-energise themselves. We have school terms for a reason. To take time out to allow students and teachers to recharge themselves. Short breaks, holidays, family outings, regular personal time outs, extended time at home, or time free of devices are important mechanisms to refresh oneself. This is a key self-discipline. Time with nature has a great healing affect on people. The simple things are the best. Whatever you enjoy doing and wherever you enjoy going, it is important to you – so do not compromise this.
The family that travels together stays together
Adopt a “one simple thing” policy: This is a powerful mechanism to help you juggle a work-life balance. A “one simple thing” policy is something you do for yourself each day or week, that allows you to spend guilt free time on the things that matter to you. It could be a range of things such as leaving work early on a set day to pick up or drop off children at school, or having a longer lunch break a couple of times per week to exercise or socialise, or planning a regular “dinner date” with your partner to catch up and connect, or simply having a quiet “cuppa” on your own (free of devices) to reflect and plan for the day ahead. The key is that it is something you do for yourself. It is the small simple things you do for yourself that help you make sense of the world and help create some personal order into what is otherwise a chaotic world.
You can only lead a horse to water. Inner peace and motivation is what drives a purpose
I have never met anyone who has cracked the perfect work-life balance formula. Those who struggle typically have no personal self-leadership formula. Those who seem to manage their own work-life balance better seem to have a personal leadership charter that they use and adopt. So, the question remains, what is your personal leadership formula?
Leadership Lesson
Life is not about how important you are, but the impact you make.
You can only do this if you are positive, energised, and upbeat about your life,
not weighed down with the burden of how tired or busy you are, or indeed lost!
If you are passionate about life, you will be energised.
A personal charter helps guide your purpose!
Facta Non Verba = Deeds Not Words
