How Do I Grow in Cutting Edge Leadership? The Art of Self-Leadership

We live in a time when the wind blows from unexpected directions and the cards are reshuffled almost daily. Perhaps you recognize this in your own organization: you map out a course for the coming years, but before the ink on the strategic plan is dry, reality forces you to make adjustments. I notice this in my own life and work as well. The days when we could calculate the future with spreadsheets and static five-year plans are definitely behind us.

As a leader today, you stand in a permanent, strategic field of tension. How do you lead with a steady hand when the ground beneath your feet is constantly moving? It is the art of surfing the waves, rather than being swallowed by them.

The Essence of Cutting Edge Leadership

To remain effective in this dynamic world, we need a leadership style that operates on the cutting edge. At xpand, we call this: Cutting Edge Leadership. This leadership, like a sturdy building, rests on two supporting, complementary pillars that keep each other in balance. They are two co-essentials that we must never view in isolation from one another:

1. Strategically sharp perseverance (Competence): This is the clear, tough side. It demands result-orientation, a healthy 'kill instinct', and the ability to quickly fathom complex situations to make bold choices. Not beating around the bush, but daring to cut where necessary.
2. Empathically connecting leadership (Character): Strategic sharpness without humanity becomes cold and destructive. This side is about developing, challenging, and bringing people along. It is servant leadership resting on genuine appreciation.

As a rule, every leader has a natural preference for one of these two styles. Personally, for example, I am clearly more motivated to develop and inspire people. I like to dream and design concepts, but the harder focus of making strategically sharp choices is not my natural preference. That is why I always make sure that colleagues complement me in that area.

And yet, ultimately, it is also my personal task to grow in both directions to lead professionally in the coming years. We must develop both sides within ourselves.

The Foundation: Four Dimensions

Based on our experience coaching thousands of leaders, we have translated this concept into four concrete competencies. Two of these are inward-focused, and two are outward-focused:

• Inward-focused: Self-leadership & System-strategic design
• Outward-focused: Relational intelligence & Inspiring leadership

In this article, I want to take you on a short journey through the very first, most fundamental building block: Self-leadership. Because if you cannot lead yourself, you cannot guide anyone else. Especially in a turbulent environment, it is essential that you consciously invest time and energy in your own professionalism and health.

This rests on three indispensable core competencies.

1. Self-Reflection and Self-Learning Ability

Leaders who stop reflecting on themselves and refuse to keep learning will eventually and inevitably perish due to their own blind spots. No matter how brilliant or successful you are: if you stop leading yourself, you dig your own grave.

Well-known thinker Frances Frei reminds us that leadership is primarily about creating the right conditions for others, but that starts with deep honesty toward yourself.

"Not where you wish you stood, but where you actually stand today — that is the starting point of all true growth."

That is why I consciously take one day a month for self-reflection. A day without the operational hustle and bustle of the day. A day to develop new insights, to read, to write, and simply to spend time with myself. It helps me filter out the noise and see clearly again what truly matters.

2. Resilience and Energy Balance

Leading in a dynamic world is a top-tier sport. Within xpand, we also call this 'riding the dragon'. If you fight the dragon of change and stress, you will end up exhausted. But if you learn to ride the dragon, you use its upward power and the thermals to rise above the storm.

Elite athletes continuously work on their resilience and health. As a leader, you should do the same. Ask yourself the following three questions:

• What truly gives me energy?
• What is draining my energy right now?
• What are my personal energy restorers where I can refuel daily, weekly, and monthly?

Resilience is no accident; it is the result of conscious choices in movement, sleep, nutrition, and silence.

3. Rhythm and Rules of Life

When everything around you is constantly in motion, you need anchors for your emotional and mental health. In the past, people spoke of the classic triad: rest, cleanliness, and regularity. In modern leadership, we translate this into conscious rules of life and rituals.

Rules of life are not restrictive laws, but rather supporting structures that you set up yourself to stay healthy in a demanding life. For me personally, these are a few fixed rituals:

• The morning: Always twenty minutes of breakfast and reading at a quietly set table.
• The evening: Before going to bed, a twenty-minute walk with my dog Archie to let go of the day.
• The night: Prioritizing at least seven to eight hours of sleep.
• The relationship: Going on a short vacation or recovery weekend with my wife Silvia four times a year.
• The mind: Reading three books a month for intellectual nourishment, and making room once a week for spiritual input and inspiring encounters.

Mastery always grows in small, steady steps. You don't have to turn your whole life upside down tomorrow, but you can embrace one new habit today.

Your First Step

Self-leadership is the invisible foundation of the building we call leadership. Without a solid foundation, the roof will collapse sooner or later at the first storm.

I want to invite you to pause and reflect on this very quietly and honestly. Where do you stand right now when it comes to your own self-leadership? What is one small, practical rule of life you can introduce this week to increase your resilience?

Warm regards,

Paul Donders