What is leading?

When we talk about leading, we are talking, in some way, about our ability to influence, whether in our personal or work lives, regardless of the formal role we occupy.

There are many formal definitions of Leadership, many authors who are true masters in this regard, and many views of it. I do not intend to mention them here, but it is clear that, whatever I say, I will be influenced by all of them.

If I ask myself what is, for me, leading, leading effectively, the following words/concepts come to mind: influence, path, intention, imagination, vision, determination, listening, communication, exemplarity, team, honesty, congruence... and if I try to construct a few sentences, I could say that "to lead is to achieve something (a goal, a "whatever") through others (your collaborators/friends, etc., depending on the environment) counting from the beginning with their ideas/concerns/ ..., having a clear and determined idea of what you want to achieve, being flexible at the same time, ... and all this through a display of honesty, congruence, example and the ability to infect/enthuse".

Lead Yourself First

Well, whether it's this "definition" or any other similar one, I would say that if you're not clear about what you want, if you don't know how to listen to yourself from the depths, if you're not honest with yourself mism@, if you don't recognize and properly manage your emotions, if you don't have your true capabilities, if you don't really count on others and you let yourself be overcome by your fears, because of your limiting beliefs, because of your egos... His leadership ability will be in the red. That's why I believe that in order to lead, you first have to lead

Outstanding Leaders 

Todos reconocemos a los buenos líderes. No hace falta que nos lo expliquen demasiado. En todos mis cursos e intervenciones siempre pregunto “qué define a un líder sobresaliente”, y las respuestas son casi siempre las mismas: su honestidad, congruencia, ejemplaridad, empatía, perseverancia, visión, ideas claras, capacidad de análisis, toma de decisiones, capacidad de comunicación (sobretodo escuchando de verdad)….Son casi todos ellas habilidades  relacionadas con nuestra Inteligencia Emocional, habilidades que algunas personas tienen mas desarrolladas que otras, pero que tod@s, absolutamente tod@s, tenemos la capacidad de desarrollarlas, mejorando así nuestra capacidad de liderazgo, empezando por nosotr@s mism@s.

Emotional Intelligence and Good Leadership

And this is where Mindfulness plays an important role, as a key lever for the development of Emotional Intelligence and therefore of our ability to lead ourselves in order to lead. With Mindfulness and the development of Emotional Intelligence we establish a clear, deep and powerful connection with ourselves, with our strengths, with our fears as well. We learn to be honest with ourselves. We can't fool ourselves. We learn to accept (not resign), to be at ease with ourselves and with what happens to us. We regulate emotions and put them to work for our benefit. We learn from mistakes, misfortunes and "get up" faster (we are more resilient), we listen more, we collaborate more and better (thanks to the development of empathy) and we value the "lessons" of vulnerability (we don't mind showing ourselves as we are, first to ourselves, and asking for help when necessary) and our collaborators/friends appreciate it. We're not Superwoman/man and they know it!