Do you have balance in your personal life? We don’t control over much. Our personal balance is one area we do total control. Build balance in your life.
Leading requires a great deal of physical and emotional energy. You have to persuade and say “let’s go” to people who don’t want to go. You make tough calls that directly affect the lives of other people. You have to solve difficult problems. You have to serve as a mediator, encourager, and coach. For this we need balance so we can re-energize ourselves.
Balance is about making the right choices. We all make many choices every day starting first thing in the morning. Do you eat a healthy breakfast? Or do you start with a specialty Starbucks loaded with extras?
As the day goes along, our decisions generally get more complicated and difficult to make. In our position choices don’t come with all the facts leading to simple conclusions.
Our balance begins with an accepting self-image. Be realistic in acknowledging who you are and where you stand now. Have a healthy self-respect.
Know what you stand for. Be aware of your values. Be confident they are ethically sound and bring out the best in you. People respect the leader with strong values and will enthusiastically follow their lead.
When you have a positive self-image and strong values you don’t have to make compromises to please others. Your choices even when difficult will be understood and respected by your team.
Leaders face stress and strain every day. Positive mental attitude is a key trait of successful leaders. For us a positive attitude is a tough attitude. Toughness makes it possible for you to resist great strain without coming apart. A tough mental attitude keeps us from losing heart. We do not fall into doubt or give up in despair.
Attitude defines us. We have choices every day regarding the attitudes we embrace. Do you frequently complain or are you positive always looking for solutions? A positive attitude is not something that magically happens. It needs to be cultivated and strengthened.
How do you create and maintain your attitudes and balance? Marshall Goldsmith in his latest book, Triggers, discusses how our environment may impose continual stress on us. He suggests building a personal structure to recognize and then control how we react to circumstances outside our control. A good book to read.
Leaders with balance are realistic about their self-image, have integrity, strong values and a positive attitude. They manage their environment as they recognize and react appropriately to challenging situations that arise every day.