I have always been shy, consider myself an introvert and was not born a natural leader.
I am able to create rapport with almost anyone, I dare to speak my mind even if it feels scary, and know how to do it without creating tension. Presenting ideas and creating buy-in is not difficult for me. If you want someone to run a meeting in which everyone is engaged and involved, I am your woman.
I know how to get people intrinsically motivated, and learn from both their successes and their mistakes. But I am not a natural leader. Or I didn’t think I was until I did the Essence training at Humanication. And I decided to invest in learning how to work with people in an inspiring way.
I learned every aspect of my leadership
I manage to get teams excited and proud because they achieved more than they thought they could. Teams I work with don’t get demoralized by cynics and complainers, because I know how to identify the first signs of it happening and I know what to do to solve it. When things get tough I manage to get people to pull together and support each other rather than blaming and getting selfish. All of this I learned. I invested in developing myself.
Before I learned all this I was shy and read books. Lots of books. Including books on feminism, happiness, sustainability and leadership and mindset. In real life I avoided challenging conversations, and when they happened they rarely went well. I thought that leaders were extrovert charismatic people. Usually men. And that wasn’t me, so I didn’t think I could ever lead.
After some years the extrovert charismatic people were turning to me to learn how to empower
One of the biggest breakthroughs in my life was finding out that extrovert and charismatic people can be just as bad at getting the best out of others as anyone else. The second breakthrough was finding out that leadership is not a personality trait, but a long list of very specific skills that one simply needs to learn. I invested in developing myself. And you can learn it too.
Leadership is not a personality trait, but a long list of very specific skills
The third breakthrough was discovering that the more of these skills I learned, the more I was allowed to “play around” with them, make mistakes and make them my own, the more my lack of bravado became a strength. After some years the extrovert charismatic people were turning to me to learn how to empower.
I believe that these times call for a different style of leadership
I believe that these times call for a different style of leadership. The kind that allows human talent of all different shapes, genders, colors and sizes to flourish. The kind that will contribute to a more human and nature friendly society. That kind that is currently hidden in thousands of introvert women and men who have never seen themselves as leaders. And, unless someone challenges them to develop themselves, probably never will.
Your voice deserves to be heard
I am not a natural leader. I spent years learned every aspect and every nuance, and now it looks very natural. And you can learn it too.
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