Self-leadership: Beginning with the 'Self'

A ship's navigator uses lighthouses as points of focus on the vessel's journey to its destination. If he did not know how to use these and other navigational aids, how would he know where the pitfalls to avoid were? In much the same way, to have more than an existence, self-leadership is the key to discovering these 'navigational aids' for our own lives.

In December 2005, I wrote about taking The Journey Inwards. I continue today on the same theme; that it is a journey of self-leadership. It is a far larger concept than personal effectiveness, although that is certainly one of the aspects of a life where self-leadership is in evidence.

Self-leadership is the inward journey taken by individuals to identify and clarify their core values and who constantly seek the alignment of attitudes and behaviour to those values. Be absolutely CLEAR - self-leadership is not an event or even a series of events; it is a life-long discipline. Hence, there is NO way I am THE finished product myself, despite advocating it myself.

I began my own inward journey most seriously when I became a father about 6 years ago. As an employed individual then, I found myself seeking what was important to me. The job was taking too much time and giving too much heartache. Worse, the self-doubt was eating away at me and spilling over into my family relationships. The resulting internal discussion soon became a conversation with Brenda, because she was, and is, an extremely important part of my life.

We both soon discovered that the self-leadership journey truly had to begin with our self-image: that is, my identity as an individual husband and father. Across these relationships which defined me, I pinned down important aspects of my journey inwards. I am sharing 3 in this entry, to whoever wants to begin a similar journey

First, self-leadership is about clarifying values; distinguishing between the 'negotiables' and 'non-negotiables' in my life. I realised that values were the bedrock of my attitudes, which were in turn responsible for my behaviours and the quality of my relationships. As I tested this discovery by looking at the decisions in my life, I saw that each time I began negotiating what were non-negotiables, there was greater internal conflict which spilled over into key relationships in my life. Conversely, by keeping my values intact, decision-making became less painful.

Second, self-leadership is a reflective process. Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher in his Apologia written circa 400 BC, said:
"A life unreflected upon is a life not worth living."
Without active reflection, we fail to use the lessons which life freely dispenses, which when heeded, would give us the wherewithal to live it more richly. Without reflecting on how we have lived a day, we are perhaps doomed to fritter away the day that is yet to come.

Third, self-leadership is about taking charge and living out your values. 6 years ago, Brenda and I reached the decision to follow the inner clarion call to leave employment and to create something that we could call our own. This would give us the flexibility of time, which we could spend to grow up with Ethan. Being my son's best friend in his teens meant that I needed to spend time with him from his infancy. I guess the easier alternative was to just 'go with the flow' and let the momentum of career and life carry me. However, I just didn't want to be a hostage of circumstances anymore.

Each day on this journey of self-leadership, I gain renewed clarity about the non-negotiables in my life. Each step on this journey, I maintain focus on these non-negotiables by the discipline of a reflected life.

Noel
Resident Philosopher
(*All text is copyright of Trailblazer Trainers Pte Ltd)

Innovating with Innova Junior College! - An MOU Inked!

We are pleased to announce that Trailblazer Trainers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Innova Junior College this morning. The MOU puts into motion an action research collaboration with the College into the development of brain-based teaching pedagogies anchored on student learning preferences and teachers' thinking preferences. It builds on an already-strong relationship developed over 2005 through our BrainPoweredTM Learning & Teaching workshops for students and faculty.

The occasion was graced by no less a personality than Dr Geil Browning herself, creator of the Emergenetics and Student Teacher Emergenetics Profiles, who was in Singapore for the Asian launch of her book, Emergenetics: Tap into the New Science of Success. Both the College and Trailblazer Trainers believe that our research efforts will yield insights, that will be of tremendous benefit to schools everywhere! Ad Astra!*('To the Stars!' - Innova Junior College Motto')

Noel
Resident Philosopher

A New Look in Cyberspace!

We are proud to announce that the Trailblazer Trainers' home in cyberspace has undergone a massive revamp. The new site has been 'live' since yesterday. This caps several months' rebranding work, since the last quarter of 2005. It also marks the launch of our new programme offerings under our BrainPowered trademark, for both our corporate and educational sector audiences. I'd say the entire effort was all worth it, because of the renewed focus that we gained.

Whatz Next consultants, Bin Yen and Eugenia, have been fantastic and resourceful in providing their expertise to have our Website reflect our corporate identity and values. We recommend them without hesitation! Excellent job, guys!

Noel
Resident Philosopher

2nd Time Parents

Hi True Believers,
Just a note that Brenda and I have become parents a 2nd time round this morning at 1142 am. The photo shows her and Ethan, our eldest, who's finally had his prayers answered. Edna Tan Huih weighed in at 2.91 kg. Edna means 'pleasure and delight' in Hebrew and her Chinese character stands for 'wisdom', an infinite attribute of God. It is our prayer that she will be a pleasure and delight to all she meets in her life, and more importantly, she will take pleasure and delight in God's wisdom all her life. Bless you Edna!

Daddy Noel