Self-Leadership is the foundational ability that enables you to effectively express all of your other knowledge, skills, strengths, and passions.

The SOAR Self-Leadership Model  provides a practical roadmap for demonstrating self-awareness, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and agility when engaging your most important and complex situations that require strong relationships for success.

Self-Leadership Checklist

Self

• I can easily articulate my core purpose and goals.
• I can describe the environment that brings out my Best Self.
• I can describe the environment that brings out my Worst Self.
• I understand my strengths and how to best apply them.
• I understand my weaknesses and how they get in the way of achieving my goals.
• I consider my personal values when making important decisions.
• I prioritize self-care to address my most basic needs

Outlook

• I am aware of how my perception biases can distort how I see situations.
• I actively try to understand diverse worldviews.
• I try to understand others’ unique situations before making judgments.
• I know what triggers my negative emotions.
• I recognize how my negative feelings affect my behaviors.
• I regularly use breathing to calm my emotions.
• I am aware of my emotions and can accurately describe my feelings.
• I stay true to my Best Self when engaging with my most challenging situations.

Action

During my most difficult conversations:

• I am always clear about my best intentions (Results and Relationships) for the conversation.
• I work to create shared clarity and alignment on the core issue.
• I am skilled at managing others’ defensive reactions.
• I lead with open-ended questions to understand others’ perspectives.
• I take time to ask follow-up questions.
• I come prepared to share my perspectives on the issue.
• I know when to transition to questions that generate solutions.
• I work to develop clear agreements for shared action.

Reflection:

• I know how to reflect to effectively learn from my experiences.
• I build in time for reflection as part of my regular routine.
• I actively seek feedback for continuous learning.
• I actively set development goals for ongoing improvement.
• I share my goals with people who will support my progress.
• I regularly practice new skills to continually develop.
• I create clear plans for overcoming recurring challenges.

What can you do to improve your Self-Leadership Skills?