Practice Your Leadership Skills Every Time You Make A Decision

You can practice leadership skills, even if you’re an introvert, in the decisions you make every day. Decision making is a crucial role for leaders of all kinds. Sometimes the smallest decisions can have the biggest impact on an organization or group. As a Light Worker it will be advantageous to be decisive and able to think strategically under pressure. These aren’t traits that come easily. They require practice, and there are opportunities for you to obtain that kind of practice through every aspect of your life. Let’s look at the ways you can practice leadership skills as a Vibrant Holistic Visionary in your daily decision making.

Practice Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is often referred to as emotional IQ. It has to do with the ways in which one manages emotions and uses them to guide their actions. High emotional intelligence means you’re not led by such emotions as anger or frustration. Rather than reacting rashly to a stressful situation, someone with a high emotional IQ will think things through in order to make a strategic decision. They are led by information and are in control of their decision making, rather than merely reacting to outside circumstances. If you’re an introvert or a highly sensitive person, it’s more than likely you’ll have a high emotional IQ.

Deal with Uncertainty

Many people are afraid of uncertainty and there are many uncertainties when you run your own business. If this is a problem for you, it would be beneficial to practice sitting with the discomfort of feeling uncertain. Learning to manage that feeling will make it easier to take the time to make an informed decision, rather than rushing to a hasty decision simply to get it over with or avoiding making any decision at all out of paralysis caused by fear. Making a decision from a place of fear often has disastrous results, so the next time you’re uncertain about making a decision, try observing your emotions without judgement and sit with the decision for a while.

Gain Self-Awareness

Knowing yourself is important when it comes to making sound decisions. We’re often driven by internal motivation that can tend to cloud our judgment. Ulterior motives fueled by emotions such as jealousy, insecurity, or fear can lead to some devastating decision making. Therefore, taking time to know yourself and gaining self-awareness can help you to avoid making mistakes in judgment. The next time you’re making a decision take the time to ask yourself why you want to make that decision and notice any emotions you are feeling making that decision. This will help you identify if the reason for making the decision is emotionally driven or it is simply the best decision to make.

Trust Your Gut

Finally as a Vibrant Holistic Visionaries it’s important to know when to take risks. You need to be able to look at the big picture and make a call based on what you think will produce the best results for your business. Sometimes this requires simply trusting your gut. Developing your intuition is a skill that requires practice. Taking quiet time in the form of meditation, exercise, outings in nature, or other solitary activity is an effective way to get in touch with yourself. Listening to the gut response you have in many situations can be the factor that leads the way to success. Honing your instincts is something that can pay off in all areas of your life.

Take Every Opportunity to Take Charge and Organize Your Private Life

We’ve talked about ways you can incorporate leadership skills into your private life. I’d like to expand upon that here and discuss some practical ways you can do this. You’re probably gaining a number of leadership skills simply by going through your daily routine, and you may not even realize it. Let me show you what I mean.

Parenting Duties

Speaking of having kids, parents take on leadership tasks simply by taking care of their children. As a parent, you are responsible for every aspect of your kids’ well-being and you organize so much of your life around their survival and happiness. Just think of the types of skills you are gaining that are essential leadership skills:

• You demonstrate tremendous responsibility for your kids.
• You probably need to be pretty organized, with an ability to prioritize, with the busy schedule kids have.
• Time management is essential when you’re a mom or dad ensuring everyone gets to where they need to be on time.
• As a parent you do your fair share of problem solving, critical thinking, and negotiation.

These are assets that companies look for in their employee leadership.

Volunteer Positions

I’ve talked quite a bit throughout this series about the benefits of volunteering and how it can help you gain the competencies of a leader. Let’s look at some practical ways you could do this in your life. If you’re a parent, you could sign up to be a room volunteer. These folks help organize parties or assist the teacher in various ways. You might also volunteer to serve on a committee at work or within the community. You’ll gain skills in networking, communication, organization, and other aspects of pulling a successful project together.

Relationship Management

We all have a variety of relationships within our personal lives. As mentioned, some of us are parents. Many of us have significant others. Most folks have friends. Many of us have clients and customers. Also, we interact with people throughout other aspects of our personal lives – such as church, clubs, or other organizations within the community. Regardless of the type or intensity of connection, relationships require the use of many skills valued in strong leaders. Communication skills top the list. Empathy, compassion, listening skills, and compromise also come to mind. Leaders must develop healthy relationships with their team in order to be successful.

See? There are so many different ways in which you’re developing, practicing, and demonstrating leadership skills every day in your private life. You may never have considered this perspective before. Now that you’re aware, I bet you can think of many instances in which you’re already adept at many of the skills employers and other organizations seek in their leadership.

Throughout your day-to-day activities, you’re given many small opportunities to practice leadership skills. Some of the best ones involve decision making. Practicing making informed, strategic decisions will help you to feel more confident in your abilities as a leader.

I hope this blog has helped all my fellow Light Workers to see the value of their contributions to the world and removed some of the fears around stepping up to become a leader.