Lead authentically. Stop comparing yourself to others.
In a world where we are so connected, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of comparison.
Staying in your own lane can be hard, you find yourself seeing what someone else is doing and start comparing yourself to them.
In their fitness journey, their relationship, their business, their career, their leadership journey, their confidence, their [insert your thing here].
Leaders find themselves measuring their success against industry peers, trying to reproduce someone else’s achievements or potentially getting sucked into the allure of social media.
When you compare yourself to other leaders it can erode your confidence, stop innovation in its tracks and undermine your effectiveness as a leader.
However, by embracing your own uniqueness as a leader and building your own authentic leadership style, you can break free from the cycle of comparison and lead with confidence and purpose.
Here are a few practical tips to help you as a leader to stay in your own lane and lead authentically:
Embrace your uniqueness. No one else is you, use it as your superpower.
Simply put, no two people are the same. You have your own unique background, experiences and personality that has shaped you into the person you are today and inadvertently your leadership style.
Instead of conforming to what everyone thinks a leader should be, embrace your individuality and leverage your strengths.
We’ve all worked with leaders who we definitely don’t aspire to be like, so embracing your uniqueness is your opportunity to be yourself and become the leader you choose to be instead of mimicking how someone else is doing it.
If you are an introvert who leads by listening and empathising or an extrovert who inspires through their energy and charisma, celebrate what sets you apart and do more of that.
Define your leadership values. Then make sure you stay true to them.
Spend time clarifying your core values and principles as a leader. What do you stand for? What drives your decision making? What standards do you hold for yourself and others? What motivates and inspires you as a leader?
Your leadership values just like your personal values will be the guide to your actions and choices, regardless of the noise around you.
When you get stuck in the trap of comparison this is where you can falter on your own values and beliefs to jump ship and do what someone else is doing because you might think it’s a better way, they have more experience so it’s worth doing it their way or you’re lacking confidence in your approach and it’s easier to compare yourself then back yourself.
Stay true to your values as a leader even when you are faced with challenges or temptations to compromise.
By developing a clear sense of direction and purpose based on your leadership values, you can ignore external benchmarks or comparison yourself to others as you ground yourself in your own vision of success.
Develop your leadership skills. Experiment with different techniques and approaches.
You don’t wake up one day and have all the skills you will ever need to be a leader, it is a journey of continuous learning and growth. You will continue to adapt, learn and take insights from all of your interactions in your life.
One of the biggest mistakes I see leaders make is that they get stuck in the weeds of the day to day, trying to deliver project after project, do all the things, being everything to everyone. Instead you should be Investing your time into developing your skills and expanding your knowledge through formal training, mentorship, coaching and self led training.
There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to leadership. There are different leadership approaches and techniques that you can experiment with to work out what suits you best and your team.
The most effective leaders continue to work on their skills so they can become more versatile in their leadership.
Practice self compassion and gratitude.
When you find yourself all consumed in comparing yourself to others, practice self compassion and gratitude.
Everyone’s journey is different, there will be leaders with different levels of experience, life experiences and they might take a different approach than you and that is ok.
We all experience setbacks and challenges, they are a natural part of our growth, it’s how you respond to it that makes the different.
“Where focus goes, energy flows. And where energy flows, whatever you're focusing on grows.”
I absolutely love this saying because it is so true, when you spend your time focusing on the negative, more negative comes up and vice versa when you spend time focusing on the positive and what you do have you will experience more of that.
So instead of focusing on your perceived shortcomings or failures, focus on your strengths and accomplishments. Celebrate your progress, no matter how big or small and express gratitude for the opportunities and resources that you have at your disposal.
Be grateful for the lessons and understanding that you learn in your moments of comparison and lean into self compassion.
Lead by example. You’ll inspire others to do the same.
Embody the values of authenticity, resilience and integrity so you can lead by example.
It’s important to be transparent about your own struggles and vulnerabilities, we all them and this is what makes us unique. When you demonstrate a willingness to be learn and grow, it can be seen as a permission slip to those around you to do the same.
When you model authentic leadership, you will inspire others to do the same.
There will be team members who you are leading or who are watching from afar that you didn’t even know were watching and it will create a ripple effect of positivity throughout your organisation.
You lose your authenticity when you compare yourself to others, you end up warping yourself into someone that you’re not and most of the time people can tell.
So just be you and lead the way for others to do the same too.
So my message today is, stop comparing, stay in your lane, and lead with authenticity.
Everyone around you will thank you for it.
