Do you want to be a good leader?

Do you want to be a good leader and lead others? If so, you need to learn to lead yourself first!

Good leaders make others feel safe.  They lead by example, they create  great environments and people trust them - thus teams follow good leaders.

My desire is to grow and become known as a good leader.  

So, annually I ask myself tough questions:

• Do I treat others fairly?
• What do I need to change?
• Can I  actually change this?
• How will I change?
• When is my start date?

These are tough questions, however “experience has taught me, nothing changes when nothing changes, and small incremental changes over a long period of time has major impacts all around me.”

Many of you are familiar with my life statement, some of you may not be.  

Life has changed for me and it began in 2003.  In 2003 I thought life was perfect.  I had a good job, plenty of food, great friends, and  then the doctor talked to me.  It was pretty simply she said, “Carolyn you’re dying, at the rate your going, you’ll not be alive to see your grandchildren graduate from high school.”

Yes, my body was shutting down.  I couldn’t walk more than a  block without being out of breath.  My blood pressure was out of line, my cholesterol both good and bad were out of control and I was a diabetic.  Oh, and everything was somebody else’s fault.

For the first time in my life what the doctor said resonated with me! Change or die, my choice.

Last month, at my annual physical the doctor said, “Carolyn I am not sure what you’re doing, but keep it up, your blood tests are right where they need to be.”

There are no instant gardens.  We do reap what we sow.  However 12 years of work makes a difference.

If you want different results you must ask tough questions and learn to lead yourself---and only then can you lead others in helping them to make challenging changes.

Take some time and ask yourself the above questions---put together a long term plan, and implement steps that lead to change.