Personal Power: Take It Everywhere!

This may not be a popular opinion, but I believe that true power is personal. 

Many cultures and communities communicate, both directly and indirectly, that we should be looking to external sources and obligations to achieve power.

My definition of Personal Power is our ability to manage our selves with the character of a leader and leadership = Lead Your Ship. A great place to start is to take a look at where we can improve ourselves to increase our Personal Power. As we increase our personal power, we magnetize the people, projects and positions that naturally complement our strengths and talents. Those operating with a high level of Personal Power will lead teams that often achieve greater results than those leading with positional power alone.

Increasing our Personal Power is about developing character traits that support us feeling strong and secure.  At a recent group workshop, I asked each person to name one character trait of a leader.  Here’s a short list of the answers; decisive, brave, confident, disciplined, patient, good listener, good communicator, organized.  The group agreed that these traits are some of the core characteristics of a leader.  This is probably not news to anyone reading this.

However, where we can get tripped up is when we forget how these character traits are strengthened. Let’s use weight training as an analogy. When training with weights, the strategy to get stronger is to increase the weight.  It is expected that this will be a struggle and maybe failure is experienced.  However, the muscle recovers and, over time, lifting heavier weight is possible without struggle.

Keeping the weightlifting strategy in mind, let’s revisit this list of character traits;

decisive, brave, confident, disciplined, patient, good listener, good communicator, and organized. Strengthening each of these will mean facing a challenge, or many challenges, that requires the trait(s) be employed.

As we strive to embody these traits, we must face challenging situations that call us to practice the particular trait(s) in a new or greater form. Sometimes, it can help to remind ourselves that the challenges are there to strengthen us along our path. 

Something that I find helps me to face challenging situations, and feel I am standing in my power is to briefly acknowledge to myself something like this…. “what a great opportunity this situation is for me to develop and become (a better communicator, more patient, a chance to practice courage, etc.). “

And just like lifting heavier weights in the gym, there is often struggle, or even failure.  But, I have learned that it is in exerting the effort towards patience, discipline, courage,etc. that we gain strength and resilience. And when we do succeed, it is important to take the time to reflect and celebrate our own growth.  Personal Power……take it everywhere!