Leadership Starts with You

By Cait Finn | Leadership & Strategy Advisor for High Achievers

I recently recorded something around one of my favorite topics and if you’ve been in my world for a while, you already know what that is: leadership.

It’s funny… for a long time, I actually shied away from using that word.Because leadership is one of those words people have complicated relationships with. It’s nuanced. It’s layered. And it’s about so much more than being “in charge” or “managing a team.”

When most people hear leadership, they think:managing people, hitting goals, driving results.

But that’s only one small piece of the picture.

The Deeper Work of Leadership

Here’s what I know:

As a leader, it is your responsibility, for the sake of your mission, your goals, your team, and yourself, to pause, assess, and take care of yourself.

And yet… that’s the piece that gets skipped most often.

It feels less concrete, or like something to figure out after you hit the next milestone. I’m going to stop you right there, you never really “arrive.” The marker keeps moving. The goals shift. The definition of success evolves.

If you’re waiting until you “get there” to care for yourself, you’ll always be chasing a finish line that doesn’t exist.

The Foundation of Leadership

Real, sustainable leadership begins when you come back to you.

When you don’t, when you’re burnt out, resentful, or running on fumes, you can’t lead with integrity or passion. You might say you value rest, balance, or care for your team… but if you’re not modeling it, your people won’t trust it.

That’s the gap.

And it’s the one I see over and over again.

If you’re not honoring your own needs, if you don’t even know what they are, you’re doing a disservice to the mission you care about most.

It Starts with You

This is the real work of leadership.

Not just strategy.Not just management.

Self-leadership.

Learning how to care for yourself, regulate your energy, and create clarity within, so that you have the capacity, excitement, and stability to lead your people and your mission well.

Because the truth is:

When you lead yourself first, everything else follows.

It starts with you.

Check out my full video

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