There is a saying that has always stuck with me throughout my life from the moment I saw it back then when I was in high school. The saying was something along the lines of “be the change you want to see in the world” and I knew from that moment, I wanted to change the loudness of the negativity in the world.
As unfortunate as that sounds it is true.
Negativity in the world spreads faster and is louder than positivity that is why the first skill I cultivated was to always be kind to others. However, to be kind does not work by itself, it needs to be followed by empathy.
Being empathetic about other peoples’ problems, personal issues and negativity is the foundation of a great leader. Deploying kindness and empathy will grant you (and even both parties) trust and long-term benefits in terms of leading and personal success.
Those two “traits” are the operational superpowers I have been perfecting over time. But there are a couple more that come before these and can be said that they are my foundation for being a great leader.
You are in no place to be kind or empathetic to others if you are not self-aware and accountable for your actions. Funnily enough, I think I had kindness and empathy in my DNA first before I got introduced to self-awareness and accountability.
And for that reason, I was miserable, though I was getting “walked” all over and pointed fingers instead of thumbs.
That changed kind of recently when I moved to another country. I had time to reflect and eventually held myself accountable for everything I had that made me miserable, I made peace with myself.
Eventually, being kind and empathetic turned into superpowers instead of weaknesses (which I thought they were) whilst having strong foundational self-awareness and accountability.
For example, I know that if anything bad happens to the business or a department of one I am leading, I would be self-aware of my feelings at that moment and hold myself accountable for the fault while deploying empathy and kindness to the people that work “with” me. I know from experience that placing fear and stress in the working environment is inimical.
Furthermore, to get out of this situation you must have tenacity and convictions to be able to find a solution. You have to stand by your ideas or plans and be determined to see the end of them. These last two I can say are in the works to further add to my arsenal of leading.
Ultimately, I consider myself a good leader without comparison to others but because I feel in me that I read situations and can understand people and feel deeply what they are feeling.
That is why I listen more instead of talking and try to ask the right questions.
Sometimes the right questions can be hard to come forth and be discussed. But I understand that and because of that, a great leader must establish a mindset of prosperity and happiness by being honest to himself and then to his employees and being kind simultaneously.
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