There’s an old saying that “wherever you go, there you are.”
Indeed.
At work, at home, at the gym, at the grocery store, in your community: it’s all you. You’re the same person in each of those spaces – and all others.
Wherever we go, we’re the same person. Which means we need to learn how to manage ourselves to be relevant in each of those environments and situations. So please note: this is not an admonition to “bring your whole self to work.” That’s confusing and creates problems.
As leaders, we’re under observation from our teams. They’re looking to us to see what’s important, what behavior is accepted, what they can and can’t say. What you do and how you do it are models for them; you set the culture for your team, just as senior executives set the culture for the organization.
It’s not about being a carbon copy of anyone else or boxing yourself into any of the various “leadership styles” out there. As you may know from reading my articles, I’m a strong proponent of leaders understanding and developing their own individual style.
So how does that work?
It’s simple, but not necessarily easy: it requires understanding yourself and being aware of how you come across to different people in different situations.
It’s one thing to be visibly stressed and upset at home. It’s something else again to behave the same way in the office.
This, of course, is an obvious example; most situations are more nuanced – which is why it’s so important to, first, be aware, and, second, self-manage.
And then to also understand your team, your peers, and your bosses.
Because, as I wrote here (in that case, specifically about communication – but it applies across the board), you’ll get the best results if you treat people the way they want to be treated; the Platinum Rule.
In short: always show up as yourself – while making sure it’s the aspect of yourself that’s relevant to the situation at hand.
NOTES:
My LinkedIn posts on leadership styles (you don’t need to be a LinkedIn member to read): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gracejudson_leadership-styles-are-bunk-i-almost-wrote-activity-7216070980069154816-urUp/
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gracejudson_changeleadership-leadershipdevelopment-employeeengagement-activity-7075487674714771456-slse/
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