Millennials are people born roughly between 1981 and 2000 which puts them somewhere between finishing high school and stepping into management positions. Ideally, when stepping into those management positions, thought has already been put into your leadership style and what direction you’d like your career to head in.
As we often say – no organisation is going to take care of your career the way you will, so taking responsibility for your learning and development is crucial.
The most common way to learn how to behave and function at work is by mirroring the people around you. If you are really lucky, you might get a great manager and role model to show you the ropes. Their example can serve you well when you step up into leadership positions. However this is not always the case.
Behaviour is a product of thinking but few people stop to think about how they think. Self-mastery sets you up to do this. Once you understand the tools, prioritise the time for critical self-reflection and integrate the learning into your life; you can come from a powerful place of conscious action rather than reflexive reaction. Choose your behaviour from day one, don’t just copy it.
A 2012 study on Millennials showed that just over 50% chose to work for a particular organisation because the company shared their values; and 56% said they would leave an employer if their values did not match. Yet many Millennials have not spent the time reflecting on and articulating what their values are and end up working them out by trial and error.
Starting to develop your self mastery as early as possible allows you to discover and understand who you are, what you would like to be, what your values are and what fundamentally drives you. From this place of consciousness and knowledge, you can make choices purposefully and aligned with your whole self and what you care about.
Lastly, know what it is that allows you to be successful at what you do.
What are your real core strengths and how do you enhance them? Alternatively, where have you got room for improvement? Are you self-aware enough to know what you really aren’t good at and never will be? Are you able to collaborate to enhance skill sets?
To know any of these things, a deep self-knowledge born of honesty and curiosity is essential. Self mastery gives you the framework and supports you in getting to this place. It then builds you up so you can be your own true north and find your bearings no matter where you are. It gives you profound confidence in your decisions and behaviours as well as a core belief in your goals and dreams.
Setting yourself on the Self Mastery path as early as possible allows you to embed a foundation that is deeply connected to who you are and where you want to go.
This post is an excerpt from an article written by Laura Hamilton in our latest newsletter. To receive the full newsletter, subscribe here
