What Is It That Makes You Unique?
What is it that makes you unique?
What makes you tick at work?
Do you feel happiest when you’re bouncing ideas off other people? Or is it when you’re filling in a spreadsheet?
One of the great things about people is that we’re all unique. We may share common goals, interests and even personality traits with other people. Yet nobody has quite the same blend of all of these things.
It’s a combination of these unique traits and our personal values that add up to who we really are. They’re our motivators, what makes us tick. And when we know how to tap into them we can achieve amazing success.
When we’re going against them, we start to feel stressed, undervalued and burned out.
But when we tap into what makes us unique and use that to improve our performance at work, amazing things can happen.
Leaders have different styles – and that’s a good thing!
From Kouzes and Posner’s ‘Five practices of exemplary leadership’, to the Hershey Blanchard model, there are dozens of leadership style frameworks available.
These models and frameworks are great for getting an idea of your style. They’re good for identifying basic strengths and weaknesses of your leadership style. However, if you’ve completed any of these before and don’t quite fit into any of the boxes, that’s not a bad thing!
When I explore leadership frameworks with my clients, we often find that there’s a particular style that they fit into best. However, they often have elements of the other styles too.
In reality, there are as many different styles of leadership as there are leaders. No two leaders have the exact same style because no two people are exactly the same.
What drives your own unique leadership style?
Most of your behaviours, including your leadership style, are driven by your core values. These lie at the heart of what you stand for. Your unique strengths also complement your values.
Your leadership style is amongst other things, a blend of these values and strengths.
Most leaders really shine when they’re comfortable with their values and strengths, and they know how to play to them. It’s about being the real you!
Knowing what makes you tick can help to direct your decisions about which projects you get involved in. It can also help you respond to situations and interact with team members in a more positive way.
When you’re bogged down in tasks that don’t align with your values and strengths, you can start to lose your passion for your role. When this happens, your leadership can suffer.
Authentic leadership starts by living your purpose and staying true to your core values.
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