In this post, we are exploring the gift of leadership. If you have the gift of leadership, you do not follow others. You are doing your own thing and might be a little ahead of your time. You might even be considered a little crazy.
Society wants people to be the same but only write books about the crazy pioneers
Consider Steve Jobs as an example of a true pioneer. He had a clear vision of his goals from the very beginning of his journey. Initially, many people viewed his ideas as strange, as they were unconventional and completely outside the norm. But what do we think about his ideas today? It’s not that crazy anymore, right?
If you possess the gift of leadership, you are likely someone who can clearly see the bigger picture. Others around you may think you’re crazy, but you’re not; you’re a leader. You create your own path and don’t have to follow the crowd. You are not obligated to take others’ advice. Instead, you draw strength from within.
Natural leaders develop their skills by learning to rely on themselves
The reason for this is that throughout their lives, leaders have had to rely on themselves. They learned to trust their own judgment and not depend on others. As a result, they developed a strong connection with themselves just because they had to.
So, if you have the gift of being a leader, there are lessons to learn in this as well. Every gift comes with a bit more of a ”negative” side to it, things that we need to learn, our challenges, and also a more ”positive” side that might be more appreciated in our family, society, and culture.
So if you’re a leader, you might need to be curious and work on:
- How to lead people
- How to share your knowledge, vision, and innovation with people
- How to help people understand what you have and what you are actually doing
You have a story that is completely unique to you, which means there isn’t a manual for how to navigate it. No one else has experienced the same events or possesses the same combination of gifts as you do. Your life serves as a testament to your individuality.
You need to explore and be curious about how to share the deliciousness and juiciness of your story. Think about how you can use your interests to help others, innovate, and create a new path forward—one that has never been built before. It’s exciting, isn’t it?
Disclaimer: We often associate leadership with being a boss, managing teams, and having a more corporate position. But being a leader is so much more diverse than that. To some degree, we all have this to an extent because we all do need to have a leadership role in our own lives. But if you have a gift of being a leader, you are most likely going to, in one way or another, lead others, and you can lead through just being an inspiring person, creating your own path, coaching, guiding, and mentoring. You can lead by just showing others a new path in life and being innovative with your ideas. It’s not just being an entrepreneur within the tech field, managing others at a start-up, ministry, or other areas.
The ”negative aspects” of leadership gifts are often simply immaturities
As I mentioned, this gift has a little ”negative” side to it, even though I don’t like to use the terms negative and positive. I prefer to say that if you’re immature in your leadership role, as we all are in the beginning since we haven’t gathered enough wisdom yet, you might be a little bossy. You know what you want and how you want it, and if you don’t, you might be annoyed.
I was like that. I had leadership roles when I was younger, managing teams, and I was a bit bossy. At times, I was a really good leader, but at other times, I wasn’t because I wanted things to be the way I wanted them to be. Or my people-pleasing wound got in the way.
I think this also highlights some of the challenges with ADHD diagnosis. Many individuals diagnosed with ADHD are leaders. Their upbringing shaped them into natural leaders. They may have experienced a difficult childhood that forced them to rely on themselves and develop a deeper connection with themselves.
Instead of viewing this personality trait as something to grow and mature in, society puts people with this gift in a box labeled as ”there is something wrong with them,” and this, to me, is a problem.
Don’t let people put a label on you, saying there is something wrong with you
And some people with ADHD really want their way. They want something to be the way that they want it. Otherwise, they get upset.
This can be a sign of a natural but a bit immature leader who has not yet developed a level of grounded leadership. It’s simply a matter of growing into it and being mature in it. However, that is not easy if you’ve been labeled as if there is something wrong with you. Additionally, there is a problem with just medicating these various ”conditions” (personality traits) instead of giving actual support to a person’s development and journey.
I have an ADHD diagnosis myself, but I don’t identify with it because society has a very rigid and narrow-minded view of people, and we are not all meant to fit into that box. I actually don’t believe that anyone should try to fit into that box because it is not a very pleasant box.
The more you embrace your gifts and release fear, the more authentic + free you will feel
We need to tap into our gifts, mature in them, and create a life that is authentic to us. The problem is that we receive very little help and guidance in doing that.
If we are:
- a little different
- are a bit inconvenient
- or feel like something is off in our lives
…and seek help, which often comes in the form of a pill because it is easier, or someone is benefiting from it.
That pill helps us fit into the box and be able to cope with an environment that is not built for us to thrive in. An environment that we do not enjoy and that makes us abandon our gifts and authenticity.
Is it an agenda? I don’t know. I don’t care. My mission is to help people discover their authenticity and unlock their gifts, creating a life that brings them fulfillment. Not convince anyone or shake their reality up. Pure help. That’s my intention.
Being of service doesn’t mean creating just to please an audience; find your own message and solutions
When we possess the gift of leadership, part of our responsibility is to mature in it and to use it for the purpose of being of service. We should utilize this leadership gift to create positive change in the world rather than for self-gratification, as we are not meant to serve only ourselves. However, it is important not to confuse this with serving others by merely pleasing a specific audience; our services, our message, and our actions must come from within.
When you serve for the right reasons and the right people, you feel fulfilled instead of drained and miserable.
We need to take care of ourselves and fill our own cups. Otherwise, we have nothing to give. But our gifts are not meant for ourselves; they are meant for others. However, we feel incredibly good when practicing them in the right way, so you could say that we do it for ourselves as well. The divine intelligence is really smart!
So, practice your gift with other people. That is when you experience true fulfillment and alignment, which occurs when you are in harmony with your authentic self. All the immature behaviors associated with having the gift of a leader will fade away as you mature in it and when you actually start to use this leadership gift of yours.
Don’t try to be a follower when you are not
If you are a leader, you likely need to work for yourself in a more entrepreneurial way; however, that doesn’t mean you don’t require assistance from others. Like everyone else, you have strengths and weaknesses.
You’re not very good at following other people and taking orders from other people because you’re simply not supposed to. It’s not your blueprint, and it’s not your design. So you need to become the leader in one way or another in your own life, and that will lead to sustainable fulfillment, meaning, and happiness.
Start by leading yourself
Begin by taking charge of your own life. Create your unique path, and over time, you can gradually improve and elevate yourself. You will be able to lead others effectively when you first learn to lead yourself. While it is possible to start with leading others, I believe it is always beneficial to focus on self-leadership first, as your inner state often reflects in your outer environment. Doing some inner work will ultimately make you a better leader.
