We Stan An Authentic Leader (4 tips to bring YOU to your leadership)

It’s hard out here for rebellious female leaders to grow their leadership skills and find inspiration from someone that is actually relatable. 

If you took Google’s results as an assessment of leadership, you’d think it was based around suits, men and clipart. Leadership is SO MUCH MORE than that - and growing your leadership skills should be exciting and energising, not like *snore* plz show me another corporate powerpoint example. I have NOTHING against powerpoint (I actually froth on powerpoint and excel #nerd so this isn’t a Microsoft jab). 

Don’t let mainstream leadership messaging pull you away from who you are. Don’t resonate with patronising old people in suits? Don’t worry - NEITHER! I was still able to have a really successful career, win global strategy awards and lead amazing teams. Don’t get swayed into thinking, dressing or acting like someone that doesn’t feel right to you or in tune with who you want to be and the impact you want to have on the world. This is easier said than done - I agree, but here are some of the things I live and die by to help me be ME.

FOUR ways to let YOU shine through in your leadership

Create your value set. 

I find that having a personal set of values that speak to your inner beliefs and dreams helps to serve as a framework for making decisions and money moves. For example if one of your personal values is to “be yourself” then when you need to make a decision relating to a career move or a leadership decision, you can measure your options against whether they empower you to ‘be yourself’ and also help you achieve your professional goals. Want to wear sneakers to work? Will it help you to feel like *you*? Will it impact how effective you are at your job? Then go for it!

Find leadership role models that are aligned to your values but be broad in that scope. 

Don’t look for people who *look* like you, look for people who inspire you with the way that they think. Deeply ingrained in our human nature is a tribal preference, if you think back thousands of years, imagine you’re roaming the land with your tribe, and you see another group of people coming in the distance - if they aren’t your tribe then it means they are competitors for food and resources, therefore pose a threat to you. That tribal mind was a huge evolutionary benefit to humans back then to help identify threats and keep us safe, but that innate bias no longer serves that purpose now. Unfortunately it can still make us lean towards people that look/sound/dress like us, and place a disproportionate amount of trust, respect or familiarity in those people causing us to stay within our ‘bubble’. 

The learning here is that when you’re looking for role models, be diverse. Look for people with different experiences that can help show you new perspectives. Find role models that think in a way that inspires you, and helps you see the possibilities of how you can influence and lead those around you. Some of my favourites are Adam Grant, Brooke Blurton and Grace Tame. 

Listen to your instinct and use journaling to articulate your instinct into insight. 

Our body and brain will often give us clues about things that feel aligned to us, for example have you ever felt just ‘off’ after doing or saying something. Our brains record what happened immediately in the moment, but often don’t have time to decide what to record for long-term retention until later when you reflect on it. Use that reflection time to create learnings and support your growth. Journaling can help you to reflect on those situations and dig deeper into WHY did that not feel right to do or say? Keep asking yourself “why” as you peel back the layers of your thoughts and your responses will help to guide you for the next time that situation arises. 

Have an interesting Out Of Office email. 

Don’t be one of those leaders with a “Thanks for your email, I’ll respond when i’m back”. Take the opportunity to sprinkle in some of your personality. What have you got going on while you’re out of the office? Do you have a cool product or launch or playlist you’d recommend to someone? This is just a small act you can take, but it might inspire you to find other ways to let your unique personality and voice shine through in how you lead and connect with others.

For example: 

Bonjour!

I am out of the office at the moment, most likely eating pastries and frustrating Parisiens with my well intentioned attempts at speaking French. I’ll be back on the 12th of June so I can respond to you then, or alternatively my team could help you out.

What to do while you wait?

• Check out some of my favourite France inspired playlists: French Rap, St Germain, Hits Français 2010.
• Look at our latest socials: @brightenproject
• Want a freebie? Check out the New Leader Guide.

Deux croissants, s’il vous plait (that’s “two croissants, please” for those that don’t use duolingo).

Au Revoir! 

So that’s the end of my hot take, but tl;dr >> ignore Google leadership clipart - and stay inspired and reflective.

Are you looking for someone awesome to help you grow your leadership? 

Hi! I’m Victoria. I’ve got a pretty epic online leadership program- within my Epic Self Leadership course we dive deep into creating your personal value set and provide you with other tools to live and lead in your unique way. 

My Epic Self Leadership Program helps you understand your role as the leader, and find your unique way to lead so you can become a please-let-me-work-for-you boss and supercharge your team and business performance PLUS you get to create your own network of leaders to grow with while you work with me on your leadership skills.

Apply for the next intake here: Epic Self Leadership Program

References:

Harvard Business Review, 2017. Learn More From Your Experiences By Keeping A Journal. 

PsychToday, 2021, Tribal Brain Cognitive Bias