Leadership: The new way to lead yourself

This is the time when we need leadership and a time for leaders. Our world, country, nation, our inner self are crumbling and calling for a new definition of ourselves and for sure I am not referring only to the financial aspects, but the world as a whole. Is it not the time to act, instead of just sitting and eating our popcorn?  Are our so-called leaders meant to be in their position and dictate our lives according to their whims and caprices?

Is it not time that our youth, emerging professionals and the coming generation start thinking, acting than being idle? Poke within yourselves and see that you’re rendering yourselves self-destructive and allowing certain leaders walking on your toes and why not killing you softly. Are these leaders deem fit to be where they are? Do they have a global and open mindset or just manipulating others or taking us for dumbed or fools?

Politicians in their rally always promise that they would realize the dreams of the population when in power! But have they ever asked the population about their dreams or wishes? In other words, they just want to dictate your life through their wishes, the so-called giving you a better life or enhancing the country.  On an individual basis, we all want to believe deep down our souls that we have some special god gifted qualities and we can all make a difference. We all have a vision for the quality of life that we desire and deserve. Yet for many those dreams have become so shrouded in frustrations and routines of daily life that we no longer even make an effort to accomplish them.

If we pause for a minute and look around, speedy, values and beliefs, social justice, politics economy, are all emerging as a powerful theme to think about. We need to thank the fast development of technology such as social media, we have to face changes with different attitude and mindset. We need to see how can we remain competitive and be always on the edge while information keep changing and expanding; how can we grow and develop ourselves when things start shambling or reinventing themselves; how can we balance risk and reward, profitability and compliance in order to create a sustainable world and how far are we innovative.

We all agree that exercising leadership has never been so exciting and difficult as the pathway is confusing in itself. When I think of leadership, I do not see a solitary person at the top of Himalaya or entrenched in an ivory tower, exercising power and holding ultimate truth. I rather see someone engaged and do things. I see someone as a coach, not a just a boss!

Leader should be cutting through complexity and looking forward and not backward, as so many do - it’s not me but him or always criticizing predecessors. People do not want to hear these gossips, but instead they want to see what the leader can do and how he can add value to prove himself.  Leaders ought to be engaged, not just because he or she is passionate about the task but because of an inherent desire to learn and constantly develop. If you give a thought and a glance the present Prime Minister of Mauritius has made a slight U-turn and taking the grasp of the political field with a new visionary style and proximity with the public.

My recent visit to the southwestern Pacific Ocean, led me to meet, coach, train and lead various CEOs, members of Parliament who amazingly showed me the eagerness and willingness to learn with an extreme dose of decency, humility and open mindedness. I made them travel their leadership journey embracing the process of being the  true Leader. They concluded “leaders are not born rather than made.” They are made by hard effort which is the price that all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile”.  Leaders are a breed in themselves.  They present different attributes and act differently as we all know that Leadership is as old as the world itself starting from our spiritual scriptures be it Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bible, Quran, Buddhism and so on, where we have read different style of leadership, be it seasonal, epic or ancestral, but with  generational evolution  many things have changed .

It is clear that an environment shapes the corporate world as much as the corporate world shapes the world as a whole. It emerges from different sets of circumstances and situations. It might be a birthright or legacy issue. It might be an idea which cropped up leading to the creation and running of a whole empire, leading to the leader creating and strategic thinking.

All people speak of Change! But are we prepared for change? Are we ready to accept change, lead example – the USA election? For changes to be of true value, they have to be lasting and consistent. We all experienced change for a moment, only to feel let down and disappointed in the end. In fact, as per my diagnosis, many people attempt change with a sense of fear and dread unconsciously they believe the changes would only be temporary. They are limiting themselves through unsolicited beliefs. Till now I have pursued what is consider to the organizing principles of everlasting change. They might be simple but powerful if skillfully applied. I believe that this is the exact change that an individual need to embrace in order to create a personal and fruitful change.

Start leading your life for a better wellbeing in this global community, which you might not have realized so far. Be the right leader with leadership attribute  for yourself so that you could lead a government , your department, your home, an enterprise , a company and the list goes on. You need to raise up your standard, diagnose yourself 10 years back to now – you surely will realize what you achieved or not; Change the limiting beliefs if not you going to hang yourself, get your certainty back on track, try with determination, and remove the unquestionable command prompts; Change your strategy, if people use strategy to win election to the detriment of a nation, so why can’t you for your inner wellbeing and accomplishment of wish and dreams. For a fact, lots of people know what to do, but few actually do what they know.

Pinch it on your wall. Leadership is about loving what you do, having a strong sense of purpose, be responsible for your acts, it’s about resilience and courage, being curious, being self-trustworthy, self-confident, it’s about change – change starts within yourself, don’t become a conformist and always challenge the status quo.  Start living without constraints and wrong beliefs, be a free spirit and be creative within yourselves. Get you fully naked in front of a mirror one morning and make your own diagnosis, you going to get your answer. Start asking for your rights on your motherland, start questioning the elected about your dues, your worth, your future, your wellbeing and why not the wellbeing of your kids or the unborn or ask the relevant about their civic rights.

Act now!! It’s the beginning of your journey, leave your trail and you are going to find your pathway and you going to be fine. Enjoy every moment of the process, its bumpy, but fruitful, find yourself an executive coach. You are dying every day, so start living. Do it! Do it now, I Say! If your action inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a Leader of your life.

By Dr Jayshan Keejoo
International Arbitrator and Global Change Agent, Game Changer from Harvard and MIT