How the Best Leaders Manage Themselves

The best leaders in any industry are the ones that have learned to manage themselves before they give direction to others. Usually, when talking about essential leadership skills, people tend to focus on how they lead other people. However, to becoming an effective leader that gets the best from their team means working on yourself first.

The very definition of what it means to be a leader shows that self-management is key to leadership. For example, the best well-rounded leaders are ones who communicate well, show qualities like courage and patience, and are responsible for decisions. A report published in 2014 in the Indian Journal of Community Medicine stated that managing one’s self is prerequisite of any good manager.^[1]

Let’s look in more detail at the top 6 ways to manage yourself to become a great leader.

1. Time management

One of the principle self-management skills to become a great leader is to manage time properly. Time is limited to 24 hours in a day and at least 8 of those hours should be spent sleeping. To exercise your leadership skills requires setting priorities and planning to use your time efficiently. This will also help to keep balance in your personal and professional life.

2. Emotional balance

Another characteristic of great leaders who manage themselves property is having emotional balance. This can be achieved in 3 principal ways:

• Be self-aware of your values and intentions
• Be confident in your own skills, abilities, and strengths
• Belief in your ability to succeed (self-efficacy)

Your self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-efficacy can help to express your emotions and intentions in the best possible way.

3. Integrity

Being fair, consistent, and loyal to your team is also essential for being an outstanding leader. Most employees rank integrity as one of the most important qualities they want to see in their boss. What does it mean to show integrity in the workplace?

Integrity shows a deep commitment to taking the best course of action for the right reason regardless of the consequences. For example, integrity can manifest itself when you live by the principles and values that you expect from your employees. Integrity also involves telling the truth and being honest.

4. Managing stress wisely

Stress has some benefits because it helps us get tasks done efficiently. However, long-term stress or not managing stress properly can have devastating consequences on management skills. One of the ways that stress impacts leadership is that it impacts on logical thinking.

Usually, the problems that stress cause are directly connected to our reaction to it. So, the best way to manage situations raise stress levels is to channel the energy into a positive action. For example, rather than mulling a situation over, use the energy that stress is causing to find effective solutions.

You can also try delaying your initial reaction to the situation. This helps to get yourself into a better frame of mind and prevent saying something that you might regret – which would cause even more stress.

5. Get organised

A great and effective leader who organises others needs to have good personal organisation. First of all, make sure that your workspace is decluttered and look at solutions to minimise what is on your desk. This will set a good example for your subordinates because a good leader always leads by example.

6. Problem-solving skills

An effective leader needs to have the appropriate skills to help others solve their problems. Sometimes, employees may come to you with complaints and be quite emotional. What are problem-solving skills that you can use for self-management and lead others? Find out what the problem is, why the problem developed, and what the solution to resolve it is.

Source: 1. Indian J Community Med. 2014 Jul-Sep; 39(3): 138–142.