Discipline

 

Discipline is the next quality that Brady and Woodward include in the Trilateral Leadership Ledger's factor of Character.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines discipline as: to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-control.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines self-discipline as: correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement

 

President Harry S. Truman is credited with having said, In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.

 

So what does self-discipline involve for the effective leader?  Here is a partial list that I would present from years of observation and experience:

 

1. Effective leaders maintain self-discipline over their emotions.  It is not that they have no emotions but rather they control their emotions instead of letting their emotions control them.

 

2. Effective leaders maintain self-discipline over their tongue.  In the Proverbs, King Solomon states Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble. Prov 21:3 (NLT)  Far too often people in a leadership position miss the important point of listening and not immediately reacting.  "Let me get back to you on that" can be one of the best tools that an effective leader has.  BUT... if you say it, you have to do it or you will lose all credibility!

 

3. Effective leaders maintain self-discipline over their schedule.  Before you react (see the point above), let me explain.  I am fully aware that people in a leadership position, and, yes, effective leaders, have chaotic schedules that they frequently cannot control.  But, there are things you can control.  Do you set aside time every day to read (leaders are readers, that is a conversation for another day)?  Do you set aside time to exercise and take care of your health?  Do you make time for your family?  Do you schedule rest and downtime?  All of these are critical and supported by the leadership research.

4. Effective leaders maintain self-discipline over their thoughts.  The old adage that you are who you are when you are alone applies here.  What consumes your thought processes?  Where do you let your mind go?  Again from the Proverbs (paraphrased from Prov 23:7 KJV) As a man thinketh, so is he.

This is not a comprehensive list but rather starting points for an internal conversation.

For an excellent discussion on this, Read John Maxwell's Developing the Leader Within You, especially chapter Chapter Nine: The Price Tag of Leadership: Self-Discipline.

 

Effective leaders start with themselves.  None of us are perfect and all of us need to attend to our own self improvement and self-discipline.  People are watching and they will know!

 

Chris Brady & Orrin Woodward: "Launching a Leadership Revolution."  Business Plus. New York. p.96  

 

John C. Maxwell: "Developing the Leader Within You". Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN.