REPOSTED from douglasleslie.com
Hey leaders, and more specifically nonprofit leaders, the success of your organization is largely a reflection of your personal successes and failures. If you, and by extension, your organization, is struggling to get a foot hold, the root of your misfortune might be in how you you self relate. Are you consumed with self doubt? Are you preoccupied with how others see you as a leader? Welcome to the club.
Rare is the leader who hasn’t experienced self-doubt. — Steven Snyder
But there are a few specific steps you can take to get over the hump of the “poor me’s”:
Create and publish a short list of personal values.
This idea sounds elementary, but do you know what your personal values are in specific areas of life? What are your values in the area of Family? Health and Fitness? Finances? Public Service? Personal/Professional Relationsships? Conflict? Choose the ares of life that matter most to you and write down your values in on short paragraph for each area. Personal values serve as the compass to keep you on track in your personal and professional life. Print them. Clearly post them – on the wall, in a frame, wherever they can be seen regularly. Respect them. Live by them.
Treat yourself with respect.
How you treat yourself is how you expect others to treat you. This is a hard lesson to learn. You cannot expect others to treat you with respect if you don’t as well. Most fall into this trap after long stretches of unmet expectations or relational discord without resolution. If this is you, it might be time to take a break and hit a reset button (see #5)
Learn to manage your schedule.
With high responsibility comes VERY HIGH time demands. I learned this key piece of insight early in my career from an entrepreneur friend.
Manage your schedule or your schedule manage you.
It is okay to say “no”. The tyranny of the urgent must be subdued and placed in alignment with your Values. Your family, your staff, and your doctor will thank you.
Invest in personal development.
And when I say this I don’t mean a nonprofit leadership forum that you attend on behalf of your organization. I mean time for YOU. Attend a marriage retreat with your spouse. Study a good book on team building. By taking the time to become a better, well rounded, leader you lift and inspire your staff to do the same. Instead of looking for the rising tide, you become the rising tide.
Periodically, push the reset.
Everyone needs and escape from time to time. It is not selfish to unplug. In fact, I think it is at the heart of servant leadership to take regular breaks. When you run your self down, you are tired, irritable, and resistant to needed staff insight. Your organization will not crumble without you online and ‘involved’. Take a break. Unplug. Go away for a long weekend – regularly. Schedule annual vacations. Take time to enjoy your life. Your refreshment is key to your organization fulfilling it’s mission.
Do you have more keys to share for others? Leave a comment and let us know.
