Lead From Within

A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than fear.
Herb Kelleher

The passing this week of Herb Kelleher—the man who filled the skies with flying hearts—made me reflect on compassion and the way we treat ourselves and each other.

At the beginning of each year, many of us set resolutions for ourselves and our businesses: we want our personal lives and our business lives to be better than they were the year before.

These resolutions are usually about fixing something that we perceive to be broken. We fixate on the negative. We give in to our inner critic. And, in doing so, we often forget to cultivate the positive.

This is to the detriment of ourselves and our businesses.

The goal of every leader should be to care about their teams and genuinely want to build them up individually and collectively. True leadership is about leading people, not organizations.

For us to be compassionate towards others, first we must be compassionate towards ourselves.

This year, when setting your goals, don’t focus purely on negative things that need to be changed. Instead, also take time to reflect on the positive things inside of yourself and how they can be enhanced and amplified.

This year, begin your leadership goals from within.