Does Self-Control Really Matters For Leaders?

In my few years on earth, I have been tasked with the responsibility of choosing/selecting leaders for particular groups or positions right from when I was a kid in high-school. It started with my role as class head in high-school, where I have to select others to support me in my role and to head other affairs in the school. Then it continues to the local church assembly, the Red Cross, University days and now the many other groups I head.

In all these leadership roles, I am often tasked with the responsibility of appointing leaders for different positions. You may wonder, why did I bring this up?
Because most times I have been handed lists of essential traits that makes a good leader which I should consider when making my selection. Top of these lists include; passion, communication skills, vision, clarity, decisiveness, critical thinking but never self-control. Is this good enough?

Above is a simple Google search for leadership qualities. Note the first set of traits that are mentioned in most of the articles.

I read an article a couple of weeks back by a Forbes magazine contributor, Prudy Gourguechon, who mentioned that

the explanation for the neglect of self control and discipline is because consideration of leadership qualities tends to look at behavior and results rather than character or fundamental psychological capacities.

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Let's look at a few instances where discipline have proven to be an essential trait for leaders and individuals.

The crypto market have made all of us here investors. You and I hold some Steem, bitcoin, Ethereum etc. Does self control count here? Sure! While most corporate systems tends to ignore self control, professional investors study and value it.

How do you react when prices go up or down? The greatest skill one need to developed as in investor is the ability to discipline oneself from reacting out of fear or excessive caution or being unduly influenced by greed/envy. So as leaders, know that you are prone to mistakes in judgment when emotions override rational decision-making. Remain watchful and search for ways to prevent emotion-driven mistakes.

Last year December, I happened to take part in the Nigerian Navy screening exercise. Well, not on the side of the panelists but actually one of those who were screened. I was very watchful to see what they were really interested in especially with the psychological screening. In the psychological section, self-control (discipline in military terms) is paramount. As the Navy (The military) considers all her member leaders, discipline is not something to negotiate on when choosing members of her force. The psychologists took note of tiny details like

• How does he adapt (emotionally or cognitively) to unforeseen problems, bad news or conflicting information?

• Does he offer the first response that comes to mind?

• How about emotional outbursts? Etc.

Through simple exercises and discussions, the personnel could determine roughly how discipline each candidate is.

As a leader, one must show strength in the dimension of self-control, displays composure and confidence, staying task focused in a stressful situation - Gourguechon.

I learned recently about emotional noise when making a decision; fears, desires, impulses, anxiety over failures, needs, wishes, convictions etc which are constantly bombarding us further as we try to make decisions or take actions. It was my first time coming to learn about the term emotional noise, they are termed so because they come from the emotional parts of our brains and come with pressure which do lead to impulsive action if not regulated. Therefore, one must develop some level of self-control for preventing chaos in the face of this pressure. This allows one to wait to make decisions rather than act on our first impulse.

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In my experience, timing is important for everything. Don't rush off to do anything especially when emotions are involved. I always try to limit what I say when I'm angry or after a glass of whisky (in fact, as a rule, I rarely talk or text after taking alcohol even though I am within limits). I remember once when I made a promise to a partner out of happiness and I got to regret it heavily after the whole thing died down. Therefore, it is important that in considering leadership qualities, fundamental psychological capacities should be given priority just as individual behaviors and results.

It does not matter the field you operate in, even in communities like on Steemit, you will get to meet several people with lot of characters especially if you hold some Steempower. I have witness someone got angry and nuked another user account over a minor issue. Remember, as leaders we set an example for our followers. If the coach cannot control self, it's unlikely for the team members to posses high level of self control.