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Being the best you can be as a leader

Both my parents have had a strong influence on my life. It wasn’t till much later in life that I realised exactly what that influence has been or how strong that influence was. 

A special gift from my father has been the strong desire to be the best that I can be. It’s not about being a perfectionist, but more about striving to always do my best at whatever I do. It’s a strong internal drive that I have.

Many years ago, in a former career, one of my patients gave me a ‘Thank You’ card with the following quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

‘The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well and doing well whatever you do’.

This quote really captures exactly what I mean.

When I reflect back on my life – and during COVID-19 that’s something I’ve been doing more of than I would normally do – I can see how this strong desire has played out in many different ways during my leadership journey.

For me, my most important journey of discovery and learning has been to understand who I am, what’s important to me, to understand my ‘why’ and the values that guide everything that I do. To be a leader of others you first need to understand who you are. Leadership is about who you are, not what you do… thisis at the heart of leadership. Once you are clear on who you areand your particularstrengths, then it is much easier to perform in your leadership role… to be the best you can be and to do so with confidence.

How important is it to you to be the best you can be in challenging times?