By John Colburn

It is my firm belief that anyone can lead…poorly. As I assume everyone who is reading this knows, there is a vast difference between being in a leadership role and actually leading. To lead well requires a high degree of self-awareness, conscious intention and a willingness to act with courage.

Once I am in a leadership position, regardless of my place on the org chart, I believe I have an obligation to establish a regular practice of self reflection. The kinds of questions that I believe every leader should be asking themselves regularly are:

•  What is important to me?

•  What am I passionate about?

•  What do I value?

•  What are my core beliefs?

•  Is my leadership behavior in or out of alignment with these beliefs?

It is only through a regular process of self reflection, where I examine the relationship between my beliefs and my actions, that I can ensure that I am having the impact that I want to have as a leader. This regular process of self assessment has many benefits; it helps me course-correct earlier when I do get off track; it deepens my understanding of and commitment to my values; it prepares me to act in an effective and confident way in the face of crisis; and it builds the confidence that my constituents have in me as a leader.

You already know that, as a leader, everything you say and do is magnified in the eyes and ears of your constituents. When you think about the profoundly personal impact that your actions have on the people that you lead – they get to keep their jobs or not, get to fund their dreams or not, get to do cool work or not because of decisions that you make – this phenomenon is easy to understand. What you may not realize though is that everything you don’t say and don’t do also sends a clear message about what is important to you and what isn’t. In effect, it doesn’t matter if the choices you are making as a leader are conscious and intentional or not – they still have the same personal impact on those you lead. My contention is that the more we are unconscious and unintentional in our leadership actions, the more likely we are to trigger less desirable results. The most effective leaders understand the consequences of unintentional behavior and so choose their actions and words with great care.

Simply knowing what is important to me and why it is important (self-awareness) and being mindful of the impact that my words and deeds or lack of them have on others (conscious intention) is not enough when I am a true leader. Doing only these things well is like being a builder who simply builds to code – I will be doing the minimum acceptable to keep my license valid, but I will not be building a loyal customer base in the process.

Leaders are held to a higher standard. It is not enough to simply be aware and align my behavior with my values. Leaders are expected to utilize their integrity in service of organizational and personal success. The most effective leaders regularly demonstrate the courage of their convictions. They understand that it is their job, in the words of Arny Mindell, to “sit in the fire”. They are willing to have the difficult conversations, make the difficult decisions and take the road less travelled in pursuit of their ideals. When we combine a deep understanding of who we are as people, a thoughtful approach to what we say and what we do, and demonstrate a willingness to act with courage in the face of challenging situations, then we are truly leading.

I have no doubt that in today’s challenging economic climate, most of you are required to demonstrate your leadership courage daily. I would love to hear your stories. You can email them to me at johncolburn@bluepointleadership.com

John Colburn is a Senior Facilitator at Bluepoint Leadership Development.