To lead others, one must first learn how to lead oneself. This is reality. There is no getting around that.

You can’t expect people to follow you, your directions and suggestions if you are not living your own life in integrity, if you are not listening and living your own wisdom.
How we act and live speaks volumes about who we are. It speaks more loudly than anything we say.

Here are 6 attributes of self leadership.

Goals. You must have a set of goals or principles in order to know where you are leading everyone; and then you must stick to them so that you can accomplish something.

Optimism. To be a leader, you must be an optimist and a problem solver. Look at a problem and come up with a solution. Provide hope for the future. Hope is one of the strongest emotions and provides both the energy and the motivation to move forward toward the accomplishment of whatever you desire.

Courage. You have to have courage. This does not mean being super-human. To conquer fear, do what you are trained to do. Roosevelt said, “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.”

Relentless Preparation. We have to be prepared for the worst that can happen to us. Anticipate anything and everything that could go wrong. Even with the best preparation Murphy’s Law can still apply. Be flexible. There are usually more than one acceptable solution to whatever problem may arise.

Recruit a Great Team. To be a good leader, you need a great team. To put a good team in place, you need your team to balance your strengths and weaknesses. Your team needs both variety and diversity. Have the courage to let your team do their best work.

Communicate. Clear communication is vital to the success of any endeavor. You need to be able to communicate your beliefs and principles. You need to know what you are talking about and have a team to help you communicate. Try not to repeat what Robert McCloskey, a State Department spokesman once said, "I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
Good luck on your journey to success.