Girls Leadership Principle #5: Leadership Is A Process

Girls Who Fight
16 hours ago
3 min read

The Girls Who Fight Self Defense And Leadership Program

By Gemma Sheehan

Leadership principles from 'The 21 Irrefutable Laws if Leadership" adapted for girls and teens.

" Leadership develops daily, not in a day" - John Maxwell

Everyone has the potential to be a champion or a leader. But it doesn't happen overnight, it takes consistency.

"Champions don't become champions in the ring, they are merely recognized there."

If you want to predict whether or not someone will become a champion, look at their daily habits. Habits tell you who you are becoming.

If you show up consistently, always give your best effort, and maintain a positive attitude, you are very likely to succeed over time. If you’re inconsistent, lazy, and have a poor attitude, you will not be successful even if you are naturally talented.

" If you cheated in the dark of the morning, you're getting found out under the bright lights." – Boxing Champion Joe Frazier

Consistency in Girl World

Operah Winfrey is one of the world’s wealthiest women, and she started with nothing. Her mom was only a teenager when Operah was born and struggled to provide for her as a single mother.

She faced years of poverty and abuse. At age 13 she ran away from home. At age 14 she moved in with her father and he pressured her to be the best version of herself. By 17 she won a full scholarship to Tennessee university.

At her first television job she became the youngest and first black female news anchor they ever had. They later fired her, saying that she was not a good fit for tv. But she didn’t quit. She started The Oprah Winfrey Show and became one of the most powerful women in media.

She went from a difficult childhood to becoming a self made billionaire with a B, proving that where you start does not decide where you finish.

That’s the law of the process.

Leadership is Built Daily

Leadership is like martial arts because it's all about daily preparation. Even when a girl has natural talent she still has to practice to become successful.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”

Leaders Are Learners

Leadership is a collection of skills that can be learned, including respect, experience, courage, emotional strength, people skills, discipline, momentum, timing, and more.

The best leaders are always learning. They don’t think they know everything. They’re always looking for what they can learn from each person and each experience, good or bad.

As I always say, leaders are readers!

Consistency Compounds

Big results come from small actions repeated over time, not big actions taken once. Breakthrough success is like watching water freeze.

The temperature slowly goes down from 75 to 70 to 65, and for a longtime it looks like nothing is happening. Then, all of a sudden it reaches 30 degrees and a major change happens.

Leadership works the same way. It takes time for your daily effort to compound and lead to major success. You might feel like it’s not working yet, but you could be on the verge of a major breakthrough. If you give up too early, you miss it.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." — Aristotle

Becoming A Leader

Daily improvement leads to great success. It doesn’t matter if you have no skills at first. If you put in effort every day you can one day be the best in the world. Never ever ever count yourself out.

⚡️ Action

This week, focus on being consistent. Pick one thing you want to improve, and work on it every day for 15 minutes.

⚡️ Reflection

How does consistency apply to martial arts? How does consistency help you at school?

Raise a Confident, Capable Girl Who Knows How to Protect Herself

The Girls Who Fight Program® helps girls age 6–14 develop Character, Confidence and Strength while mastering self defense skills that last a lifetime.