Welcome to the latest weekly update on all things Own Your Day.
We’re getting tantalisingly close to the publication of our book which means we get to invite you all to join us in seeing if we can beat the Amazon algorithm!
On the day before publication - Monday 10 May - we will reduce the price of the Kindle version of our book to just 99p. If enough people take advantage of that offer in a 2 hour window, it will let first time authors, working with an independent publishing company like ours, beat the behemoth and give us a chance of riding the bestseller charts, getting valuable exposure for the book.
If it feels like cheating, well we guess it is a little bit. At least, trying to cheat the algorithm. But it does feel like we have to embrace the chance for a little David to take on the big Goliath that is Amazon, so on balance we think it’s worth it. And if you do join in (regardless of whether you have a Kindle or not) and bring your receipt to the launch event, there’s an extra drink on us for you.
This week, Julie focuses on one of the key themes from the book - managing authentically. As ever, we’d love to hear your views. If you use Twitter, you can see more on this topic over the coming week @OwnYourDay_Book too.
Julie’s thoughts on managing authentically…
Making the decision to write a book which was structured around the things that our target readers told us they wanted seems like a no brainer. But it’s not without risk. What if they tell you to write about something you aren’t interested in or you lack insight about it?
Fortunately, that didn’t happen. And I was delighted with how strongly the theme of people centred leadership and management came through our research. My personal mantra is that it is always about the people. And I firmly believe that leaders and managers only have one responsibility - to create an environment which allows the people they lead to be the best versions of themselves.
But as with anything you need to do, to be good at it, you need to start on a solid foundation. It’s a bit like the instructions you hear on flight safety announcements (ah, do you remember when we could fly? Those were the days…!) Passengers are always told to put their own oxygen masks on before helping others. The same goes for leadership and management. You can’t begin to help others thrive until you have your own house in order.
In writing Own Your Day, we were clear that means being centred in your own self. Being authentic. And authenticity is underpinned by a level of self-awareness which helps you truly know yourself. Once you have gone through that process it immediately helps you to be empathetic and support others to do the same. There’s a wonderful virtuous cycle of knowledge, learning and support when your self-awareness is well developed.
It also means taking good care of yourself. We all have our own version of kryptonite that can de-rail us. Mine is sleep - if I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep I’m no use to anyone. And my maintenance fix is exercise - if I don’t do that regularly I definitely get grumpy and lose my mojo. Once we stop taking care of ourselves, those triggers that can derail us have a greater chance of taking hold. We lose perspective. Our inner critic takes over. And we stop being the best versions of ourselves. And that limits our ability to help others too.
I share a very personal story in the book of how my own failure to take care of myself - exacerbated by a lack of self awareness about my drivers - had a devastating impact. But, as with all things in life, there was the richest learning in that experience. That learning has utterly transformed my working life. I know it has made me a more authentic, empathetic leader. And I hope that has had a positive impact on the hundreds of people I’ve had the privilege to manage since.
I’ve shared this experience widely when I’ve been fortunate enough to speak at events and conferences, and have always been struck by the power that comes from being open about your vulnerability. It takes courage, but giving voice to your own experience both legitimises and empowers other people to recognise and deal with their own self-care requirements too.
Brené Brown is, of course, signposted in Own Your Day - we’d be mad not to send our readers to her brilliant work! One of her most watched TED talks ever is the one on vulnerability which you can see here:
It’s one of my favourites. And whenever I doubt the wisdom of being vulnerable, it’s always a good reminder. Enjoy it if you haven’t watched it before.
So it was a joy to co-author such an important section in the book. I’m a real advocate of authentic, human and purposeful leadership. Because of this, it gave me a real sense of responsibility about getting this part of the book right. I’m delighted with the content, from the frameworks to help you support deepening your own self-awareness and the tools to support self care. Talking of which, I saw this great article just recently on the power of self care in the New York Times
And finally, I was speaking at an event recently and heard about a tool for understanding yourself and others which I’m sure would have made it into the book if I’d heard about it before it went to press. It’s called Disc and you can find out more about it here. I’d be really interested in what you think of it and whether any of you have used it already.
Your thoughts…
That’s probably enough from us this week…as you can tell, I could talk or write for ever on this topic! But I’m really keen to hear your thoughts on anything in this week’s note that has sparked your interest.
Did anything particular resonate with you on what it takes to be vulnerable?
Or to take care of yourself so you can be there more effectively for others?
Or on the topic of authenticity more broadly?
Whatever they are, we’d love to hear about them in the comments section. Simply click on this link to share your thoughts:
Until next Friday.
Best wishes
Julie & Diana
PS You can pre-order your copy of the book via these routes:
Great to see Own Your Day gathering momentum. My copy of the book is on order. Wishing you every success.
Thank you for bringing the wisdom of vulnerability into the world of management. I was just listening to a Tara Brach podcast on radical honesty and how important it is to be honest with ourselves. For me, vulnerability is about getting real and getting honest with what's really here and it's such a practice. The more we do it, the more we connect to ourselves and each other and that feels like growth. I will put Monday May 10th in the diary - when is the 2 hour window? <3