Key Takeaway 1: Throughout the history of leadership research, there have been various views of assessing leadership.  The Traits approach measures leadership based on personality traits.  The major leadership traits are intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability (Northouse, 2019).  These can be broken down into more granular measures that are used across various leadership assessments, such as the TTI Trimetrix Assessment.  

​

Key Takeaway 2: Your leadership is an extension of the relationship with yourself (Anderson, 2023).  Our consciousness operates either in our ego or in our authentic self, never both at the same time. Ego is ingrained into our subconscious as a stress response to provide protection.  Our authentic self only comes out when we create a safe, and peaceful environment.  As a human, I completely resonated with this.  As a leader, it was good to be reminded that all poor leadership behaviors and habits are ego-driven (Anderson, 2023).  We need to reduce the amount of emotionally-charged reactions in our day-to-day lives and get to a place where our authentic selves can respond strategically and with intention.  To reach our authentic self and channel it consistently, we must focus on and improve our relationship with ourselves.

​

Key Takeaway 3: Confidence is a strong inner belief, trusting who you are, where you're going, and that you'll find a way to make things work (Anderson, 2023).  It sits between arrogance and shyness and thrives when we operate in our authentic self.  Without confidence you can't operate with authenticity and you can't make yourself vulnerable.  Both traits (authenticity and vulnerability) are critical in establishing connection and cementing trust.  To gain confidence, you must know who you are, what you stand for, and what your value is.