The first person a leader must lead is themselves.
You can’t lead yourself without self-discipline. That’s why a leader’s journey begins on the inside.
The quality in detail
Four steps through the quality: understand, check, connect, apply. Open any topic to read more.
The core messageWhat the quality means – and what it doesn’t
Before you lead others, you have to lead yourself. Self-discipline means aligning your behavior with your goals and values, even when your moods and wants pull another way.
- It does not mean
- That self-discipline automatically makes you a leader. It is a prerequisite, but without relationships, vision and skill it is not enough.
- That you should be hard on yourself. Self-discipline is not self-coercion but faithfulness to what truly matters to you.
- Strictly speaking
- The evidence is strong that people with high self-control fare better in many areas of life – at work, in relationships and in health. Self-leadership can also be practiced through goals, self-observation and self-reward.
- The popular idea that willpower is like a battery that runs down over the day was not confirmed in a large replication study. Good habits and surroundings that make the right thing easy help more than sheer willpower.
- Applies to
- Every area in which you carry responsibility: your working day as a specialist or as a chief executive, your preparation in church, your commitments in a club, how you handle money and time in your family.
The explanation“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” – Plato
“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” – Plato
Self-discipline doesn’t automatically make anyone a leader. But without it, leadership loses credibility over time – whether you lead only yourself or an entire organization.
The signs3 signs the quality is present · 3 that it is missing
- You keep your commitments and deadlines even when nobody checks them.
- You do the important things first instead of letting the urgent or the pleasant drive you.
- You ask nothing of others that you do not keep to yourself.
- The more freedom your role gives you, the less often you stick to your own resolutions, rules and deadlines.
- Your mood decides how you treat people and which tasks you tackle.
- Good resolutions for your work and your life only last a few days.
The research6 sources · 1986–2016 · with the limits of the research
- low
- moderate
- high
High – Self-control and Self-Leadership.
- 1986Charles C. Manz
Self-Leadership: people lead themselves via self-observation, self-set goals and self-reward.
- 2004June P. Tangney, Roy F. Baumeister & Angie Luzio Boone
High self-control goes along with better grades, relationships and mental health.
- 2011Terrie E. Moffitt et al.
Childhood self-control predicts health, wealth and criminal offending in adulthood.
- 2011Greg L. Stewart, Stephen H. Courtright & Charles C. Manz
Self-Leadership findings at individual and team level.
- 2016Martin S. Hagger, Nikos L. D. Chatzisarantis et al.
The Ego Depletion effect could not be replicated in 23 labs.
Self-control as a trait is well supported. The claim that willpower is a depletable resource (Ego Depletion) was not confirmed in a large replication.
The originJohn C. Maxwell · “Self-Discipline”
- 1999OriginJohn C. Maxwell
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Quality 18
- Self-DisciplineIn essence: The first person you must lead is yourself.
- todayWEGVISOR: Self-Discipline
The WEGVISOR version adopts the idea that leadership begins with leading yourself. Research supports the value of self-control but has not confirmed the notion of willpower as a supply that can be used up.
The related qualities and lawsL05 Picture · Q05 Competence · Q19 Servanthood · L18 Sacrifice
Others see how you handle yourself. The discipline you demand of yourself becomes the standard for everyone around you.
Competence shows in follow-through. Without self-discipline, good ideas and abilities remain announcements.
Self-discipline turns you toward the good of others instead of your own comfort. If you want to serve, you first have to lead yourself.
Sacrifice demands self-discipline. The more responsibility you carry, the more often you have to put your own wishes aside.
The action points5 stages of growth – from first awareness to passing it on
- Become aware On one working day, note when you did something other than what you had planned, and what you gave up your intention for in that moment.
- Lay the foundations This week, set yourself one small, clear rule, such as “No emails before 9 a.m.”, and keep it for five days, even when nobody is watching.
- Make it a habit Every evening, decide what you will do first the next day, start with exactly that in the morning before anything else, and tick off each evening whether you stuck to it.
- Deepen deliberately Keep your routine going precisely in the week when everything speaks against it, and ask someone to tell you where you react impulsively or lower your own standards.
- Pass it on Talk openly about how you built your discipline, and support someone for four weeks in building a daily routine of their own – a colleague, a mentee or a team member.
The reflection questions5 questions for you or a conversation with others
- Where do I demand more discipline from others than I show myself?
- Which habit would strengthen my self-leadership the most?
- In which situations do mood and comfort decide my behavior?
- How can I shape my surroundings so that the right thing comes more easily?
- Which promise to myself did I last break – and why?
Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.
The picture to rememberStragglers are gently but firmly brought back into order.
- Stragglers are gently but firmly brought back into order.
What self-discipline looks like in practice
First on the pitch, last to leave
Cristiano Ronaldo is known for arriving first at training and leaving last, plus extra workouts. He avoids alcohol, sugar and fast food – and has scored more than 850 career goals, a world record.
An emperor who wrote notes to himself
Marcus Aurelius would rather have studied philosophy, yet in the Marcomannic Wars he led his army in person. In his “Meditations” he kept reminding himself of his duties – and modestly lived what he asked of others.
36 years for one canal
When the first attempt failed, Huang Dafa spent three years studying hydraulic engineering at age 53 instead of giving up. In 1995, 36 years after he began, water finally flowed through nearly 10 km of canal into his village of Caowangba.
