3 Practices to Be a Leader People Want to Follow
Carolyn Mozell is the founder and CEO of Leaders Who Connect and Inspire LLC and knows firsthand how transformative it can be when leaders and employees treat each other with mutual respect, kindness, and a genuine desire to see each other succeed. Carolyn served in some of the highest levels of local government leadership for over 25 years. Rising from executive assistant to deputy chief, she also knows that leadership is a privilege. Now, Carolyn leverages her direct experience advising elected officials, cabinet level leaders and activating diverse high performing teams to help leaders in business, nonprofit organizations and government agencies do the same.
Satisfaction is defined as fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from this. (Oxford Languages Dictionary) When a leader can improve self-satisfaction, they’re able to positively impact those with whom they lead and interact. They become a more satisfied leader, most of the time. How? By gaining an understanding of what feels more satisfying, then, doing more of it. Sound simple? It really is. Here are three easy practices leaders can do so they can become a more satisfied leader.
Practice #1: Be easy.
Heighten your awareness of being able to emotionally untangle yourself from things that don’t feel right to you. Commit to being more self-aware and easier about the beliefs and life experiences that can get in the way of forward progress. Give yourself grace. Take a deep breath, a walk, a run…or whatever you can do to clear your mind. Then choose a better feeling thought so you can uncover the clarity you need to take the best next step forward. Leaders who show up with the confidence of clarity, make better decisions and have better “leader energy”. Teams need to know and feel they can trust the decisions their leaders make. After all, their livelihoods depend on it.
Practice #2: Be kind to yourself.
“Comparison is the thief of joy” (Teddy Roosevelt). Leaders should focus on running their own race and never measure their success by another leaders’ success, style, path and impact. Instead, they should selfishly pour into themselves so they can selflessly pour into others. Leaders who prioritize recharging by any means necessary have the best possible chance of showing up as the best and highest version of themselves.
Carolyn Mozell is the founder and CEO of Leaders Who Connect and Inspire LLC and knows firsthand how transformative it can be when leaders and employees treat each other with mutual respect, kindness, and a genuine desire to see each other succeed. Carolyn served in some of the highest levels of local government leadership for over 25 years. Rising from executive assistant to deputy chief, she also knows that leadership is a privilege. Now, Carolyn leverages her direct experience advising elected officials, cabinet level leaders and activating diverse high performing teams to help leaders in business, nonprofit organizations and government agencies do the same.
Satisfaction is defined as fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from this. (Oxford Languages Dictionary) When a leader can improve self-satisfaction, they’re able to positively impact those with whom they lead and interact. They become a more satisfied leader, most of the time. How? By gaining an understanding of what feels more satisfying, then, doing more of it. Sound simple? It really is. Here are three easy practices leaders can do so they can become a more satisfied leader.
Practice #1: Be easy.
Heighten your awareness of being able to emotionally untangle yourself from things that don’t feel right to you. Commit to being more self-aware and easier about the beliefs and life experiences that can get in the way of forward progress. Give yourself grace. Take a deep breath, a walk, a run…or whatever you can do to clear your mind. Then choose a better feeling thought so you can uncover the clarity you need to take the best next step forward. Leaders who show up with the confidence of clarity, make better decisions and have better “leader energy”. Teams need to know and feel they can trust the decisions their leaders make. After all, their livelihoods depend on it.
Practice #2: Be kind to yourself.
“Comparison is the thief of joy” (Teddy Roosevelt). Leaders should focus on running their own race and never measure their success by another leaders’ success, style, path and impact. Instead, they should selfishly pour into themselves so they can selflessly pour into others. Leaders who prioritize recharging by any means necessary have the best possible chance of showing up as the best and highest version of themselves.
Leaders who are self-aware, kind to themselves and kind to others are best positioned to be a leader people WANT to follow.
Practice #3: Be kind to others.
Leadership can be kind and effective. When leaders are kind to others, they are likely to attract what is kind from other people. It may not show up immediately or in the way that you envision, but with authenticity and consistency, a leader can begin to connect and inspire people towards more kindness, cooperation and collaboration. Most people generally want to be seen, heard and valued for their contributions. Leaders who have the self-awareness to be clear and empathetic, gain the trust of those they lead. The trust and confidence from those you lead are critical to building healthy, sustainable professional relationships.
Leaders who are self-aware, kind to themselves and kind to others are best positioned to be a leader people WANT to follow. If you’re ready to take steps to improve your leadership satisfaction and impact, consider taking an Emotional Intelligence Assessment. It will give you a framework for personal and professional improvements
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