As The Self Leadership Initiative turns 6, it’s time for some self reflection and celebration. That celebration is of you; for joining the journey and for embracing the true meaning of self leadership. It’s exciting to be working in a new climate where self leadership is more easily understood and valued – and there’s no longer a need to camouflage what’s involved. There are some key lessons The SLI has demonstrated over the past 6 years that you may find useful on your own self leadership journey.
In the beginning, it was necessary to frame material to show clients how their boxes would be ticked by investing in self leadership training. Education providers wanted to see:
The “secret/side mission” all along was to support participants in living happier, more fulfilled and more authentic lives. When it came to organisations wanting their teaching staff to work on their time management so that they could be more effective at work, The SLI actually helped them to look at their life balance in the context of time management to help them refresh themselves and have more energy for what mattered.
When it came to helping new leaders learn to manage their teams, the true focus was on supporting them in understanding their own leadership style, values and communication patterns first so that they had the awareness to be a good leader. Only then would change management and coaching skills be approached.
It’s true that for a long time, The Self Leadership Initiative had to paint self leadership in a slightly different way because the world didn’t quite understand its power. Historically, there was a culture of ‘treating the symptoms’ in some areas of personal development training. Rather than tackling underlying attitude, identity and belief systems there was a tendency to focus on outputs. As you well know, to make real progress and long lasting change you must address the inner world first.
Gemma Perkins founded The Self Leadership Initiative at the age of 25 years old because it was her mission to help people and create real impact; this was off the back of volunteering and no real “business” experience. And now The SLI is celebrating its 6th birthday – proving that mindset really is everything.
Over the past 6 years, the transformation of around 1500 individuals has been facilitated and the aim is to double that in the next 6 years! Recently, there has been a big shift towards focusing on mental health issues, workplace stress and the fallout from the Covid pandemic: people are starting to realise that the inner world is important after all. And in the midst of all that, The Self Leadership initiative stands tall at 6 years old – helping people make sense of their inner self so that they are ready for the challenges of the world around them.
Ready to bring your best self to the table? Book a FREE consultation with Founder Gemma Perkins today to discuss your team’s self leadership potential.
