www.aafcs.org
Summer 2012
THE FACS CONNECTING PROFESSIONALS.TOUCHING LIVES.
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A S S O C I A T I O N
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family & Consumer Sciences
Self-Leadership: An Important First Step Toward Effective Leadership The theme of the 2012 AAFCS Annual Conference focused on leadership and leadership development for family Sue Buck, CFCS, and consumer sciences professionPresident als. As we heard at the conference and as we each try to define leadership ourselves, we find there are many definitions of the concept. The foundation for almost all of the definitions is “the power of influence.” We read and hear about leadership in an organization and how to be an effective leader of others. Before we can successfully provide leadership for others, we must first lead ourselves. What does that mean? It is how you lead your own life based on your own values and vision of your purpose, with course correction along the way. Values and vision influence who you are. Self-leadership is self-knowledge – as the Oracle of Delphi said thousands of years ago, “Know thyself.” We all know great leaders, but they are different from each other. We are also great leaders – and we are also different. We need to know our strengths and build our leadership skills based on them. This is a major premise of family and consumer sciences!
Leadership is not trying to be someone else. Leadership is being your authentic self. Being authentic means having high emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman in his 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence, defined emotional intelligence (EQ) as the four competences that influence leadership performance – self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. We have discussed these competencies in many of our human development classes. How can we increase our EQ and thus strengthen our skills to lead ourselves and others? Practice by taking on leadership experiences whether in your workplace or in a volunteer capacity such as with AAFCS. Learn from those experiences. Take the time to reflect on what you learned before moving on to the next opportunity. Build on your self-knowledge with each new leadership challenge. That self-knowledge can be enhanced by
seeking honest feedback from those with whom you work. Develop a cadre of your family and consumer sciences colleagues to mentor and coach you on your leadership journey. Self-leadership needs continual focus. In a June 23, 2010 website article, “Who’s the Leader Anyway? 5 Core Qualities of a Self-Leader” by the Impact Instruction Group, the authors describe these core qualities: Enthusiasm for learning: well-read, love to learn, and share new information (they are curious!) Goals for life and career: setting goals for both personal and professional life with a specific monitoring process Willingness to let go: knowing where to direct own time and energy and where to delegate thus leading in areas of strength Discipline: creating plans and schedules – and sticking to them – thus creating work/life balance (continued on page 2)
Featured Items in this Issue Ethics of Care AAFCS 2013 Election/Nominations IFHE Distinguished Service Award FCSRJ Outstanding Paper Announcements 25 Years of AAFCS Certification
Thank you, Nasco, for sponsoring this issue of The FACS!
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