23: Self-Leadership Theory

Self-leadership broadly represents the process through which individuals influence themselves to achieve the self-direction and self-motivation necessary to behave and perform in desirable ways. Self-leadership consists of three constellations of strategies through which the individual can self-lead: behavioral, natural reward, and cognitive. Behavioral strategies allow the individual to self-manage their actions, especially during the performance of necessary but unpleasant tasks, and include the strategies of self-goal setting, self-observation, self-cueing, self-reward, and self-punishment. Cognitive strategies of self-leadership which aim to create habitual ways of thinking that impact performance in a positive way. This chapter explores the history and context around the self-leadership theory, defines the theory, and concludes with strengths and opportunities of the theory.