What is true leadership?

By Michelle Shelton

What is true leadership? Is it having people that follow you? Is it getting up before a crowd?

In my opinion true leadership stems from being a leader of yourself. When you can lead yourself, well….that is when you can really lead others. Being a leader of self requires you to take responsibility when things don’t go right. Not just saying the words, I take full responsibility…actually taking it by accepting and actually expecting the consequences or the results of your behavior and actions.

A leader of self means not talking bad about others. It is seeing the best in others. It is not taking what others say as the law and not allowing others to pull you away from what you know is right for YOU.

Being a leader of self is a challenge. You must constantly self reflect on your actions and behaviors and you cannot blame shift because after all, in the end, as a leader, you are responsible for your own results. If you allow someone else to do something on your behalf, and they don’t do it the way you want, do you blame them or do you blame the person that empowered them?

True leaders are the ones that many hate. I know I don’t want to be hated. The fact is, when you are a true leader, others may not understand where you are coming from and if their mindset isn’t in the same place, the fact is..they may hate you. So what? Who cares if you are being true to yourself?

So, the next time you hear yourself blaming someone for something they didn’t do the way you wanted them to do it, ask yourself, am I empowering the right people? Just something to think about.

What is an Ahha?

The first time I heard this term was in a real estate training. I hated it. The girl doing the training kept saying, “Ahha” I was thinking it should be more like “DUH”

I have figured out along the way that each of us has those ahha moments. They are our moments when we “get” something. I think what I didn’t like the most was the overuse of the term. Years later, it makes sense. Sometimes I “get” something and I think……oh, that is cool. This is an ahha moment. I just don’t care for the term….especially when it is overused.

So why name my blog MyAhha? Because I have had a lot of them. I do know De Nile is not just a river in Egypt. So, if you can’t beat em…join em, right?