Inspiration and Individualism in Leadership

Sometimes we all fall down. You. Me. Everyone. Leaders often fail because they are trying to become someone else. To be a good leader you have to really be the person you want to be; faking it won’t cut it for long.

But that’s not to say we can’t take inspiration from others.

A specific tool I have always used in bettering myself: trying to emulate the people who are elite at what they do. When I was a competitor, I tried to emulate all the greats who I wanted to wrestle like. I was never able to duplicate all of them, but all the learning helped mold me into who I am today. And I’m still uniquely me, despite pulling that inspiration from elsewhere.  

I take the same approach when it comes to coaching.

I have had so many great coaches and leaders in my life, and my goal is to take a thing or two from each one of them and apply it to my life. This is something that is a common technique but hard to master. It is easy to be inspired by a coaching technique for a few days and then go back to the old ways once the inspiration wears off. You have to really focus and stay on it to better yourself when it comes to leading and coaching.

I think of it like a wrestling technique where I know it takes months and years to master where it’s a constant battle for me to continue to work on being a better leader and coach. There are always new ways to lead, but it is so important to learn from the past. That is why I am constantly reading and listening to great coaches to compliment my evolving coaching style. 

Having humility in your leadership and approach to it is also extremely important. Remember, you aren't always leading people who think exactly the same as you. If you were, then everyone would be the leader. There are many times where my tactics fail, or don’t quite work how I like it, but I am constantly learning and haven’t had any big mishaps yet!

Remember though, if you're the leader then everyone is watching you, so your everyday behavior matters, and one thing I’ve learned from past coaches is that your 24/7 daily behavior matters. Fair or not, that is how it goes, so it is important to be really living it.

I never had a great leader in my life who faked it, It was always just who there were, with the help of a little inspiration.