Written by: Tugce Ozdeger, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Taking responsibility for our own journey as a human on this planet ain’t that funny, right while there is a shortcut which is to blame others, the world or destiny. I bet that no one on this planet has ever had any problems whatsoever to blame and to play the victim, we all know by now that we all have master’s degrees in doing that, don't we?. However, the growth is happening on the other side of thinking that there is something wrong about us or in this world we are living in.
Therefore, everything starts with us first no matter who we lead. It could be our kids at home, or our parents or our colleagues at work. We are leaders after all and we all lead people on different occasions. Leading someone doesn’t necessarily mean that you should have a managerial position in a corporate job. If you have a child, then you are a leader, period.
The thing is that the more we understand ourselves the better we can lead others in the right direction. You may wonder but wait, sounds cool but how am I supposed to understand myself? Where shall I start? I’m glad you asked. This is like building muscle by starting to observe ourselves every step of the way, our beliefs, values, the things that matter and everything that made us who we are today in this world. When we start to keep ourselves accountable and take the charge of our own lives and responsibilities magic starts to happen. To the extent, we understand ourselves, recognize our patterns and the way we respond to certain situations, we can have empathy for the others around us.
Leading by example is what creates healthy bonds with who you are leading. If how you behave and what actions you take does not really mirror what you say, you will not have any influence on anyone you are meant to lead because the consistency which is the key element in building the trust does not exist in the relationship.
That’s why it is very vital that we always start to lead by ourselves first and to “walk the talk”.
Being a great leader in the world is an inside job. It comes within. It’s so simple to realize yet a challenge to embody the fact that being a leader is not about the people you lead, it’s all about how much you dare to look in the mirror and see yourself being a great leader of yourself.
We all have a tendency to see leadership as an external journey but the real fact is it’s not. Everything we experience out in the world mirrors what we feel inside, so does leadership.
Tugce Ozdeger, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Tugce Ozdeger is a Senior Software Engineer and a Career Acceleration Mentor for Women in Tech. After a long corporate career, Tugce created strategies to level up her tech career on her own terms. She has since dedicated her life to helping women to unleash their full potential by defining a lucrative career that allows them to experience the life of their dreams in tech. She is the founder of Heart-Centric Tech Mentoring, an online tech career mentoring academy with students from many different countries. Tugce was featured in various digital publications and podcasts. She was a speaker at SweTugg, which is one of the prestigious tech conferences in Stockholm. Tugce was also the project leader for one of the most appreciated IT-Conferences for Women in Tech in Sweden, which was arranged completely digital. Her mission: More women in tech.
