Leaders have a tough job. They must manage themselves, lead others, and keep their organization headed in the right direction (Gulledge, 2018).
As authors Willink and Babin (2017) explain, self-discipline in leaders provides freedom. Being a leader is never easy, but a disciplined approach reduces fear and frustration. The leader(s) must make decisions quickly and only sometimes make good ones. The difference is that a leader owns their mistakes and learns from them.
Discipline starts every day when the alarm goes off. Admiral William McRaven (2017) taught in a commencement speech that starting the day by making your bed means you at least accomplish one task each day. Willink and Babin continue to explain in the book Extreme Ownership that exercising discipline translates to more substantial elements in your life. When the alarm goes off in the morning, do you leave bed, lie there comfortably, and fall back asleep? We all have the same 24 hours each day, and leaders are successful because they make the time; this often means they get up earlier, which takes discipline.
A disciplined leader creates healthy habits at both interpersonal and organizational levels. Nothing is easy – there is always the temptation to take the easy road. When you have the discipline to get up early, your reward is more free time. I am a morning person, and I get up at 3 a.m. Wellness is taking care of your body, mind, and Spirit. I begin with feeding my Spirit. Next, I energize myself with a healthy endorphin release through exercise. This routine sharpens my mind and gives me the amour to tackle the day. Was it always easy to develop this routine? Of course not. I recently read in a book by Brene Brown that it is easy to talk about leadership; it is much harder to be a good leader.
Self-disciplined leaders engage up front with others in the organization; they set up open communication and execute plans to avoid problems down the line. When I first became a supervisor, I worked in higher education and oversaw a team of data entry specialists and graphic artists. I always had an open-door policy. I worked hard and communicated regularly that my door was open to my team and that I wanted them to be comfortable coming to me with questions and concerns. I ask many questions. When I started in nonprofit, I asked my executive director at the time many questions, and I would often say, “I know I already asked, but please tell me again.” I regularly communicated to my team that there were no dumb questions. I said I would rather they ask the questions, even if it means multiple times, until they understand. A self-disciplined and servant leader sets up open communication. Self-discipline is the ability to resist impulses, maintain focus, and see projects through to completion.
Ways to improve your self-discipline:
- Mind Management
- Control emotions and negative thoughts.
- Controlling emotions and negative thoughts is not always easy because we are human; believe it or not, leaders have feelings, too. You must find positive self-talk if you tend to berate yourself for mistakes and missteps.
- Nurture the mind with empowering thoughts and success stories!
- It is not a secret that in today’s world of social media it projects others to have a perfect life. We look at posts of people making it big on YouTube or TikTok. We see posts of people who seem to be living a grand, adventurous life with travel, and it is easy to fall into the trap of comparing our every day and sometimes boring lives to the small moments that others choose to share. Social media doesn’t show the day-to-day challenges that everyone faces. I know I only share the joys and highlights of my life on social media as I don’t want my entire story broadcast to the world. Research shows society was much happier and had healthier relationships before social media. Because now we are hung up on “perfectionism,” and we compare ourselves to others.
- Control emotions and negative thoughts.
- Time Management
- Set achievable goals.
- Block out time to do strategic thinking and problem-solving.
- Leaders need to give themselves more than five minutes a week to problem-solve and do strategic thinking and planning. I block off time on my calendar where I can give myself uninterrupted time to ponder challenges, think about the future, and set goals.
- Remove temptations.
- For many time management temptations are our smartphones. Do you mindlessly scroll through social media or news feeds? Do you find that hours have passed, and you haven’t accomplished anything? It takes discipline and willpower to put the phone away.
- Set achievable goals.
- Character building
- Consistent with your values (integrity).
- Don’t give up.
- Learn from mistakes.
- Relationship and team building
- Define responsibilities and coach your team.
- Most people do not like to be micromanaged, yet a leader needs to be clear and define the responsibilities of the team members, then you need to give them the freedom to execute. Your team is good at problem-solving, and when they have the authority to solve their problems, it gives them pride and ownership, which translates to employee retention.
- Give praise and credit to others.
- Nothing kills a culture faster than a lack of gratitude. No one succeeds alone. It always takes a team. As a leader, be open with gratitude, which will be reciprocated among team members, praising each other and strengthening the work culture.
- Define responsibilities and coach your team.
Self-discipline is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.
~ Daniel Goldstein
By Cheryl VIola, MBA, Executive Director & CEO