Leadership is about who you are and who you can become. It is about what you do and how you engage others to get things done. Leaders lead teams, functions, and organizations. They also lead processes, programs, projects, networks, and communities. In a nutshell, leaders lead people and manage work to create value.

Whether you are developing in your current role, looking to advance in an organization, beginning a new career, or starting a new venture, leadership will be essential to long-term success. This requires creating a personal leadership approach, or paradigm. The four building blocks of your paradigm are:

  • Mindsets: Ways of thinking. The ways in which you think about yourself, the world, and your role as a leader. Your core beliefs, values, motivators, and frames-the mental models-that guide your behaviors and interactions with people. An example of a useful mindset is wanting to perform well as a leader not because of an anxious fear of failure but rather because of a healthy commitment to excellence.
  • Behaviors: Ways of relating. The ways in which you demonstrate your character and personality and show-up as a leader. Your modes of conduct in how you listen, react, speak, and relate to others. The ways in which you carry out your responsibilities and engage with and encourage people. An example of a useful behavior is an alert presence when interacting with others: how you listen actively, pay close attention without getting distracted, and communicate clearly.
  • Practices: Ways of operating. The daily, weekly, and monthly habit patterns you follow to be intentional and disciplined as a manager and leader. The conscious practices which enable you to effectively balance and blend life and work. An example of a useful practice is a half-hour, mid-day refresh meeting with yourself that is protected for contemplation to help flow with the day’s situations, stay present, stay grounded, and stay focused on the things that matter most.
  • Abilities: Ways of working. The breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise you apply in doing work. The core strengths you leverage and the technical and interpersonal skills that enable you to be effective, including competencies of problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. An example of a useful ability is influencing the decision-making process that affects funding and resource allocation for the team(s) you lead. 

Helpful questions for getting started with your leadership paradigm include: What are personal beliefs about myself and my potential as a manager and leader? What are my strengths and values? What personal and professional traits have enabled my success? What traits might limit future success? What critical and constructive feedback have I received? What challenges do I face over the next few years? What are my goals? And, What help will I need?

One of the most important questions to address in your paradigm is: What is my definition for supporting my team? This requires deep reflection about your intentional and situational modes of management that include directing, informing, guiding, empowering, collaborating, trusting, coaching, and appreciating people.

Leadership is an ongoing growth process that begins with self-awareness and requires sincere honesty, curiosity, and humility. Your leadership paradigm will continue to evolve with new experiences, perspectives, and capabilities.

What is your leadership paradigm?