Leadership & Development

In January of 2022, I was nominated to be a participant of the Individual Contributor Impact Team Program at Motion Industries. This program invests in employees’ professional growth and helps enhance leadership skills within a team. So far, I have learned some very important key factors in order to be a successful leader.

The first topic that caught my eye, based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, is learning how to be more proactive than reactive. For a good chunk of my life, I held a steady pace of being reactive in certain situations. Rather than taking the time to think about something, I would get overwhelmed and react quickly rather than taking a second to step back and detach to think about what to do next. It’s best to take a second, breathe, think about the situation at hand and try to find a solution rather than escalating the situation, which in some cases can make it worse. Your reactions to life’s challenges portray the characteristics you may hold for the rest of your life. Traits that other people cannot change in you. You must change yourself. 

Another great read that taught me how to be a successful leader is The 5 Choices by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne. I learned how to “Fuel Your Fire”, or in this case my fire. Here are the points:

·  Move

·  Eat

·  Sleep

·  Relax

·  Connect

These are five ways to fuel your fire, or, get you motivated to living a healthy and successful life. 

MOVE: Humans are meant to be active, to move our body’s. When we are actively moving around it stimulates our minds and can allow us to push ourselves to generate new great ideas. While being at the office, it’s good to walk around a few times during the day to get the blood flowing and ideas pumping out. After work, try to go for a walk or hit the gym if you have free time. Just a few minutes of exercise a day can do wonders. 

EAT: No one is saying to go on a strict diet. Eat what you want! Just remember that per age, height and weight, each person should take into account what they are putting in their bodies based on their needs. Of course, if you add exercise, up the protein! It’s good to not scale back on eating food throughout the day, but rather change the type of food you put into your system. Don’t forget to stay hydrated and try to drink 8 cups of water a day!

SLEEP: In order to function during the day, you need a substantial amount of sleep. I know being a student and now a working member of society in the traditional workforce, we’ve all done our research and seen statistics of how sleep deprivation can have an effect on your mental wellbeing. Try to get the minimum 7-8 hours in!

RELAX: How do you define relaxation? Is this watching television? Reading a book? Going to get a massage, your nails, or hair done? Or even taking a nap? There are so many ways to relax, but it’s up to you to define what that may be. It could even be your lunch break during a long work day. We all need some down time, don’t forget that this needs to be a part of your schedule. We’re all human beings, and we all need a break from the world even if it’s a few minutes daily. 

CONNECT: The word connect can mean many different things. Does this mean connecting with yourself? With family? Friends? Others around you? What does connecting mean to you? Take the time to get to know others, to relate to others and to connect with yourself. Figuring out what  interests you helps you understand how to relate to others. For example, joining a book club if you like reading, or joining a group who loves to go hiking. Connecting can also be letting go of things you may not like to satisfy another individual. For example, a grandma playing a video game with her grandchild just for bonding sake although she doesn’t like video games. When it comes to the workplace, put yourself out there and make those connections! The people you befriend, or network with now can be great connections to have later in life. Show the interest you have!

There are so many ways to become successful in life. However, it all starts from taking care of yourself mentally and physically first.

Until Next Time, Z