This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "How to Lead When You're Not in Charge" by Clay Scroggins. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What is self-leadership? How can you lead yourself to greatness?
The one thing you can control is yourself, Clay Scroggins says. This is the most essential kind of leadership to embrace, as you’ll always have authority over your own behavior, regardless of your position in an organization.
Below, we’ll explore a few types of self-leadership you should embrace.
1. Leading Your Actions
What is self-leadership? There are three types. The first type of self-leadership is leading your actions. Scroggins describes this as being dutiful and mindful in the small, daily decisions you make. This consistency shows God that you’re ready for the responsibility of leading others in the same way, making it more likely that he’ll put you in a position of authority where you can create even greater positive change.
We’ve consolidated Scroggins’s ideas into four tips for making dutiful, mindful daily decisions:
1. Support people in positions of authority. This shows you have a strong moral character, which makes you more trustworthy. You can show this support by executing your given tasks to the best of your ability and addressing challenging situations, like dealing with a demanding boss or extensive workload, with grace and maturity.
2. Actively monitor your emotions. Your emotions drive your behavior, which in turn dictates whether people see you as a good leader, as discussed above. So, continually evaluate whether you’re being driven by the right motives. Don’t let envy, resentment, or other negative feelings influence your actions. Instead, you should be motivated by a biblical love of your colleagues, which involves putting the needs and well-being of others above your own.
3. Commit to a concrete plan for personal development. You can’t become a good leader accidentally: The way you behave now will likely stay the same after you gain a position of authority, so you must be intentional about cultivating good habits.
Scroggins suggests developing a clear vision of the person you want to be by asking yourself three foundational questions: How do you want to lead? Why do you want to lead? How do you want to be perceived by others? Once you’ve established this goal, honestly assess the ways you currently fall short of it. Then, be intentional about making choices that help you become the person you imagined—someone who embraces those leadership methods, upholds that mission, and has that reputation. Look for practical ways to hold yourself accountable for your progress, like setting deadlines or joining accountability groups.
4. Take the opportunity to learn from other leaders and those in authority. Observe how they operate and discern what they do right or wrong. Then, adjust your own leadership style to mimic their successes and avoid their mistakes. Be mindful that people may be observing you in the same way, so always strive to exhibit good leadership traits that are worthy of emulation.
2. Leading Your Perception
The next type of self-leadership is “leading your perception,” or taking an active role in shaping how you think about things. This is an important axis of leadership because your perception of a situation influences how you react to it.
Scroggins discusses two main ways you can lead your perception: taking a big-picture view and practicing critical thinking.
Take a Big-Picture View
One way you can lead your perception is by taking a big-picture view of it, Scroggins says. Instead of assuming that your perspective is automatically correct, recognize and see past your biases. This helps you understand your role and how it fits into both your organization and God’s overarching plan for your life.
Scroggins says taking a big-picture view can help you see situations positively, as opportunities for personal growth, instead of seeing them negatively. He implies that this positive perception makes it easier to support your superiors and display a strong moral character, thus encouraging people to see you as a leader, as discussed above.
To take this kind of big-picture view, Scroggins says you need faith and hope. Faith is the belief that you’re exactly where God wants you to be right now. Hope is a firm conviction that God has good things planned for you. Together, they help you believe that your current position can prepare you for something better in the future.
Practice Critical Thinking
Another way you can lead your perception is by practicing critical thinking. Critical thinking helps you identify ways to improve the situations and organizations you’re involved in. Scroggins specifies that critical thinking and being critical are different: When you think critically, your goal is to serve and help others by creating positive change. In contrast, being critical usually involves judging and degrading others to elevate yourself. Jesus’ example shows the importance of doing the former rather than the latter: Instead of simply passing judgment on people, he offered them help and guidance.
According to Scroggins, critical thinking involves constantly observing your surroundings and asking questions about the things you observe. This includes the physical environment, the people around you, and the processes you all use. Asking questions like “Why do we use this specific process?” or “How could I make this better?” challenges your assumptions and can help you identify a better way of doing things. For example, you might ask why your office maintains a waiting area when you don’t offer in-person services. The answer might simply be that most offices have waiting areas, so your organization put one in too. After challenging this assumption, your organization could use that space for something more important.
To encourage this observation and evaluation, schedule time for critical thinking throughout your work day, Scroggins says. This gives you a period of time without distractions where you can process information and make decisions carefully, rather than simply reacting to ongoing events. He especially recommends scheduling time between meetings so you can fully process the information from the first meeting and enter the next one with a clear and focused mind.
3. Leading Your Identity
Another kind of self-leadership is leading your identity. Scroggins defines identity as the core beliefs you hold about yourself. These beliefs are shaped by four main factors:
- The people you’re surrounded by, both now and in the past
- Your intrinsic qualities, such as your talents, physical traits, and emotional state
- The values and beliefs that you consider most important
- Your sense of purpose, or why you believe you’re alive
These beliefs shape your behavior in every aspect of your life, including how you act as a leader. If you have a strong, clear sense of identity, you’ll understand your own strengths and limitations, so you can confidently make decisions as a leader. In contrast, if you have a weak sense of identity, you may overemphasize your strengths or weaknesses. If you overemphasize your strengths, you’ll become arrogant and may hide your mistakes so people keep viewing you positively, increasing the severity of the problem and your stress. If you overemphasize your weaknesses, you’ll be crippled by self-doubt and be less likely to take advantage of leadership opportunities because you fear failure.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Clay Scroggins's "How to Lead When You're Not in Charge" at Shortform.
Here's what you'll find in our full How to Lead When You're Not in Charge summary:
- The risks of confusing authority with leadership
- Why you don’t need to be in a position of authority to be a leader
- How to lead your environment and even your superiors
