by Sarah Schömbs

Humans are good at delegating and looking for mistakes and solutions from other people. We are less good at looking inward. And yet, any act of leadership should begin with self-leadership. It is an extremely important concept in order to appear authentic and credible and to be able to direct other people.

Over the past decades and perhaps even centuries, society has created a specific image of what ideal leadership looks like. In a traditional context, leadership means something like “responsible management”, i.e. managing/instructing others from the top down. Within any company, this is clearly defined by hierarchical structures and distinct divisions.

Many people still associate leadership with straightforward methods and approaches like process optimization, profit maximization, and fast achievement of goals. In other words, the classic top-down philosophy. Power and authority are held by the person who leads the others. Nowadays, we are seeing changes in the area of leadership: hierarchical structures are being broken down more and more, and leaders see themselves more as mediators who promote communication and as points of contact who are more like partners than managers. In this article, you will learn what mindful leadership means and why it is so important to first address the issue of self-leadership, especially for those in leadership positions.

Self-reflection is the foundation of self-leadership

The first and most important step towards mindful leadership, and thus self-management and self-leadership, is self-reflection. To do so, focus on your person, your abilities and become aware of your potential and values.

What are the values that define you and that you want to convey? What attitude do you want to adopt towards other people and what do you define as a sense of achievement for yourself? Do you pay special attention to the working climate and the atmosphere within the team and within the company? Do you aim to develop your employees’ potential or do you mainly want to achieve your goals as quickly and efficiently as possible?

Start analyzing your thoughts and actions to find out more about yourself and to be able to lead in an authentic way, in line with your personality.

What do motivation and structure mean to you?

Leadership is not just about wanting to create structures within your team or company, but also about applying those structures to your own mind and actions. Start by clearing your mind. Having a clear mind is essential in order to lead others and yourself. The same applies to motivation. It’s easier to motivate other people and get them excited about something if you really believe in it. Check if you have similar incentives and beliefs for your own life and your work. Go from “You can do it” to “I can do it”. What motivates you?

Self-leadership also means giving yourself feedback

Feedback is a particularly challenging aspect of leadership. Feedback - i.e. giving constructive suggestions or criticism - is not just useful for employees or people in your environment, but also for yourself. You should always try to be honest about your own behaviour and learn how to give yourself feedback, both positive and negative. Pat yourself on the back when you did something well, but also hold yourself accountable for mistakes. Try to notice if your actions don’t reflect your values and your inner attitude, and readjust your behaviour.

Creating a feedback form for yourself that you fill out once a week or once a month can be helpful. This will enable you to reflect not only on past events, but also on your own actions.

Emotions and leadership — do they go together?

Finally, we would like to talk about emotions. Intuitively, emotions and feelings have no place in the workplace. At least that is the common opinion, even though emotions such as joy, anger, envy and rage occur in our working lives on a daily basis. The better approach is learning how to deal with your own emotions in a confident and constructive manner. Emotions are the key to identifying with your workplace. Both negative and positive emotions enhance the authenticity of the leader’s personality.

Being able to read emotions is crucial for leadership. According to Michael Blochberger, expert in emotional intelligence and author of the book Emotional Intelligence in Employee Management, understanding others leads to trust and security, while targeted aggression establishes clear boundaries and signals distinct rules. The difference is whether we deal with our feelings in a reflective way or choose to vent them without a filter. If you exhibit aggressive behaviour in the workplace, you should always analyse it. Does it really have something to do with a colleague or co-worker, or are you irritated because you’ve been working for half a week without a lunch break? Remember to be fair and challenge your emotional reactions when necessary. No leader is perfect because no human being is perfect. Try to recognize when you react in a mindless or impulsive way. In most cases, you will find the trigger in the other person, but not the real reason for your emotional outburst.

The most recently published Gallup Index, the most comprehensive study about job quality in Germany, clearly illustrates the importance of emotional bonds with employees’ work environment and their supervisors: In 2016, around 70% of employees were merely doing their job as instructed and said they had little emotional attachment to the company. A full 15% had already resigned on an emotional level. Emotions are therefore the key to responsible leadership and also to loyalty between employer and employee.

Internal check-in

All of the above points have one thing in common: You should always perform a kind of “internal check-in” and review your intention as well as the way you implement it. As a leader, you should think and act in an honest, authentic and transparent manner. Learn to understand leadership as an active confrontation with yourself. You can transfer this directly from the working world to your private life. After all, it is also important to express and communicate your personal beliefs to the outside world. Mindfulness can help you by strengthening your powers of observation and creating a space in which you can recognize yourself at crucial moments.

Source: Michael Blochberger, Emotionale Intelligence among Leading your Employees, 2010; p. 23 Picture Source: rawpixel auf Unsplash