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What is Your Leadership ‘Why’?

By Kelley Reynard.

Do you have a clear purpose; know your strengths and identify with your leadership style; connect with your WHY and understand the reasons you lead?

As humans, we naturally attract others and the people we work with when we are in the flow of creating what we want with our interests and passions. People can sense authenticity in what we offer when we are true to ourselves and are doing what we love. When we connect with our WHY and our higher purpose, play to our strengths and are aware of our presence, we are truly inspiring to others, influencing them to achieve great things.

The same is said for leadership. When leaders align with their true purpose, their WHY, and articulate this on a daily basis, they have more energy and feel fulfilled because they are leading from what’s important to them. You can tell when leaders don’t align with their purpose and WHY as they are less authentic and become de-motivated about their daily lives and their job, and this becomes reflected in the way they lead and shape the organisational culture.  

It is evident when a leader has a strong purpose and connects with their WHY. They support the organisational culture; they are authentic; and they understand the direction of their journey. When we think about the best leader we have ever had, we remember them for who they were being and how they made us feel; not because they were high on business acumen and strategy and could make sense of the figures and statistics in a spreadsheet. The leaders we remember most are those who have inspired or empowered us.

In short, leaders will not be effective if they do not know their WHY and understand the purpose of their leadership. They will not understand or resonate with their destination, they will be without a clear vision and mission, and they will have no convictions to share with those they lead. These leaders will be uninspiring, lack credibility and authenticity, and their followers will be scarce.

To conclude, the intersection of a leader’s WHY and their legacy gives them true power, success, and fulfilment. The challenge for leaders however is articulating their WHY and communicating this to others. When others don’t resonate or respond to a leader’s WHY, it can be confronting to compel and encourage their vision. But if you as a leader truly know your WHY of doing things and identify with what matters to you, what you stand for, and your purpose in life, the rest falls into place.