I recently completed the Ethical Leadership course with Simon, and it completely transformed my perspective on leadership. Previously, I believed effective leaders had to be authoritative and rigid, focusing strictly on financial metrics. This didn’t align with my personal values, making me doubt my leadership potential.
The course began by emphasising self-awareness and understanding how to manage upward. A key insight was that you can’t effectively lead others until you can lead yourself. Through this process, I discovered there was much more to learn about myself than I had realised – and that’s perfectly okay.
One of the most valuable lessons was understanding that while no workplace is perfect, we each run our own ‘business within the business.’ This means taking ownership of our work planning, stress management, and personal development. It’s our responsibility to communicate our development needs to our managers and drive our own growth.
The Liberating Leadership part provided practical tools for effective leadership. Two principles particularly resonated with me: first, high challenge must be paired with high support to develop your team effectively. Second, addressing behavioural issues promptly and professionally – focusing on the behaviour rather than the person – is important for maintaining team standards.
This course isn’t just a one-time learning experience – it’s a practical toolkit I can reference whenever I face leadership challenges. It’s helped me understand that ethical leadership aligns perfectly with my values, and I now feel confident in my ability to lead authentically.