Leading from the Inside Out

by Kathleen DuBois

I asked Kathleen DuBois to be my guest leader as I have enormous respect for her own leadership, positive attitude and care for others.  She accomplishes so much, successfully, and always putting her clients and others first.  A few of her great strengths are her humility coupled with inner confidence and her enthusiasm and creativity.


The ancient Greek aphorism of “Know thyself” is particularly profound when it comes to leadership success. It is impossible to effectively lead others if we can’t first lead ourselves.

How do you stack up in this area?

Skillful leaders constantly work on uncovering their true self.  They have the ability to manage their emotions, achieve great goals, and are conscious of their unique talents and how to maximize them.

Author and speaker, John C. Maxwell, offers these eight questions to assess one’s level of self-leadership:

  1. Are you investing in yourself?  This question is all about your personal growth.  How can you teach what you do not know and take others to where you have not been?
  2. Are you genuinely interested in others?  Are you more concerned about other’s agenda than your own? There is nothing worse than a self-centered leader.
  3. Are you doing what you love and do you love what you do?  Passion provides the fuel that provides you with the energy to be a great leader.
  4. Are you investing time with the right people?  Leaders surround themselves with talented, inspired people who want to make a difference.
  5. Are you working in your strength zone?  Leaders are keenly aware of what they are great at and what they love to do and they spend most of their time doing these things.
  6. Are you taking others to a higher level?  Leaders help others unleash their inner talents.
  7. Are you taking care of today?  Leaders are natural visionaries and they also know how to focus on the daily agenda and priorities at hand.
  8. Are you taking time to think?  Great leaders love action.  However, they also are talented at disciplining themselves to stop everyday and think creatively.

Regularly checking up on your self-leadership abilities allows you to grow and evolve.

As my friend and fellow entrepreneur, Susan Radojevic, recently said, “We change the world by changing ourselves.” Becoming a powerful leader of influence truly stems from the inside out. Think about it.


About Kathleen DuBois

Kathleen DuBoisKathleen DuBois is an entrepreneur, author and leadership coach. She is president of Progressity, Inc., a strategic marketing and graphic design firm with offices in Washington, DC and Charleston, West Virginia. Check out the firm at www.progressity.com.