Personal leadership is about how you use yourself as a leader, and it's important to have a good understanding of what personal leadership means and how you can develop and improve yourself in your leadership role. Personal leadership is about taking responsibility for your own development as a leader and having a positive impact on both your own results and your team. When you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses and know what drives you, you can act much more effectively and achieve better results in your leadership role.
In this article, we will explore the concept of personal leadership and give you some practical advice on how to develop yourself as a leader and strengthen your personal leadership.
Do you want the leadership skills to make you a more complete leader?
In our basic leadership training in personal leadership, team leadership, strategic leadership and change management, you will be trained by some of the country's leading business psychologists, who on a daily basis deliver the solid and passionate professionalism and impact that LEAD is known for.
The leadership training is for anyone who is in - or is about to be in - human resources management. It is relevant for both managers with a few years of experience and for new managers in both the public and private sectors.
We help you strengthen your personal leadership, become more reflective and gain a strong vision for your field and your personal career.
Learn more about our research-based leadership training
What is personal leadership and why is it important?
Personal leadership is about leading based on your own values, attitudes and personality. It's an approach to leadership where leaders are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and use them to motivate and inspire their employees. Personal leadership is about being authentic and genuine in your leadership and creating a workplace where employees feel seen, heard and valued.
Personal leadership is important for several reasons. Firstly, it helps create a workplace where employees are happy and engaged. When leaders show their true colors and are open about their own shortcomings, they build trust and respect among their employees. This can lead to increased motivation, creativity and productivity in the company.
Secondly, personal leadership is important because it can help prevent stress and burnout in both managers and employees. By being authentic and honest about their own needs and boundaries, leaders can create a culture where it's okay to speak up and take care of themselves and their colleagues. This can help create a healthy and sustainable workplace where employees thrive and develop both personally and professionally.
LEAD's model for personal leadership development
Developing personal leadership so that it has real impact in everyday life requires you to work systematically with three levels of development:
- The manager's individual leadership practices
- Leadership groups or teams in the organization
- The organization as a whole and the supporting HR processes and tools
Whether the approach is individual, team-based or part of a broader organizational program, our approach to developing personal leadership is always based on the five elements of the model below, which are inspired by Norwegian Professor Torodd Strand's (2007) experiences in leadership psychology as well as existential thinkers such as Kirkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre.
You can read more about the many skills a manager should have in our article on the topic here.
The 5 areas of personal leadership
Our model strengthens your personal leadership assessment, sharpens your development goals and helps you strengthen your personal impact and leadership identity.
Life course:
Get an overview of the life path and experiences that have helped shape you as a person.
Values:
Awareness of core values and how they interact with the organization's values.
Strengths and weaknesses:
Insight into your strengths and weaknesses as a leader and how they are practiced and experienced in everyday life.
Management theory:
Clarifying your personal theory of good leadership and assumptions about what motivates people.
Personal vision:
Clarify your personal vision and ambition for your area of responsibility.
All courses are tailored to the strategic challenges of your organization and the challenges you face as a leader.
Inspirational video: How do we work with personal leadership?
Learn more about how we can strengthen your personal leadership - get a call from one of our advisors. We can help you in many ways, either as an individual course, a leadership group course or as a module in a leadership development program.
