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Create Your Own Leadership Manifesto

Step 1: Clarity

Clarity is essential to recognizing and eliminating constraints in a process.

Reflect on your role in your organization. Where are the constraints that you see in terms of clarity? How can you contribute to creating clarity to remove these constraints, either for yourself, your team, or your organization? Think about how unclear goals, roles, or communications may be slowing progress, and how you can align your work with the mission to ensure smoother flow.

  • Example for Leaders: “As a leader, I will create clarity by addressing confusion in our communication and decision-making processes, ensuring that each team member understands their role in achieving our mission.”
  • Example for Non-Leaders: “I will seek clarity by identifying where confusion or miscommunication is slowing down progress in my tasks, and I will ask questions to align my work with the organization’s mission.”

Write: One or two sentences about how you will identify and address clarity-related bottlenecks in your role.

Step 2: Adaptability

Adaptability isn’t just about embracing change but also about maximizing effectiveness when faced with constraints or challenges.

Change is inevitable, but constraints may prevent smooth adaptation. Reflect on how you can embrace and lead through change by focusing on the most pressing challenges or constraints. How will you adapt when faced with these constraints, and what will you do to help your organization improve the efficiency of its processes?

  • Example for Leaders: “I will lead through change by adapting my leadership style to focus on the key challenges my team faces, working to elevate our biggest constraints so we can grow.”
  • Example for Non-Leaders: “I will embrace new challenges by identifying the constraints in our processes and adapting my approach to help my team overcome these obstacles.”

Write: One or two sentences about how you will adapt to constraints in your role and help elevate them.

Step 3: Resilience

Resilience is linked to remaining focused on the constraint even in challenging times.

Resilience is crucial when things don’t go as planned. Reflect on how you can remain focused on the most significant challenge or constraint, even during difficult times. How will you help yourself and others stay resilient by continuing to work toward solutions, rather than getting sidetracked by less important tasks?

  • Example for Leaders: “I will stay resilient by keeping my team focused on our most important constraint, ensuring we do not get distracted by other challenges, and supporting them through setbacks.”
  • Example for Non-Leaders: “I will remain resilient by focusing on solving the key issues that slow us down, helping my team stay on track, and offering support when we encounter difficulties.”

Write: One or two sentences about how you will maintain focus on key challenges and foster resilience in your role.

Step 4: Empathy

Empathy is not only an emotional tool but also a way to understand how people-related constraints (such as communication breakdowns or resource limitations) affect progress.

Leadership requires empathy, especially when constraints arise due to people-related issues. Reflect on how you can show empathy by understanding the struggles or constraints faced by your colleagues or the people your organization serves. How can you use empathy to address these challenges and build stronger relationships?

  • Example for Leaders: “I will lead with empathy by understanding the human constraints my team faces, such as workload or miscommunication, and by offering support to remove these obstacles.”
  • Example for Non-Leaders: “I will practice empathy by listening to my colleagues’ challenges, helping them work through constraints, and offering support where needed.”

Write: One or two sentences about how you will practice empathy by understanding and addressing people-related bottlenecks in your work.

Final Step: Crafting Your Personal Leadership Manifesto

Now that you’ve reflected on each component of the CARE model, bring everything together into a short Personal Leadership Manifesto. This manifesto should reflect how you will use clarity, adaptability, resilience, and empathy to continuously identify and elevate constraints in your organization, leading to ongoing improvement.”

Example Manifesto for Leaders:

“As a leader, I will create clarity by addressing challenges in communication and ensuring our goals are aligned. I will adapt by focusing on elevating key constraints, leading by example during change. I will build resilience by maintaining focus on our greatest challenges and supporting my team through obstacles. Lastly, I will lead with empathy, understanding the human challenges we face and helping my team overcome them.”

Example Manifesto for Non-Leaders:

“I will contribute to clarity by identifying constraints in my work and seeking solutions. I will stay adaptable by embracing new challenges and helping my team overcome constraints. I will build resilience by staying focused on what matters most during difficult times. I will practice empathy by supporting my colleagues through the constraints they face and working together to solve problems.”

Now, it’s your turn, what else will you include in your manifesto? Here are some suggestions from my own manifesto:

  • Working Genius Type Wonder and Invention (and what that means)
  • Enneagram Score 5 (and what that means)

Logistics:

  • My working hours (I will not respond to, or send, emails outside of 8am-5pm ET)
  • My phone is on DND at all times. I will see calls come through more than see texts. If urgent, please call.
  • Please don’t schedule meetings back to back unless absolutely necessary.