How to nurture the "Seeds of Leadership" in yourself

SHERMAN, Conn. - Dec. 23, 2024 - PRLog -- Will Lukang, a New Jersey-based business consultant, first started thinking about leadership after his colleagues told him he had failed miserably.

"I had a team of seven people, and the job was to rewrite an application within a specific time," Will says. "We finished six weeks ahead of time, and that was celebrated by the company. But after that, I was handed a new project and most of the team members went to work on different projects. I met one-on-one with all of them and they said, 'You were too focused on what to get done versus how we feel about it and how it works from our perspective.' I didn't see that before. It was a successful project but failed leadership. That's when I started studying what it takes to be a good leader."

Will's program of self-improvement led to career opportunities as a mentor and coach. Along with founding his own consulting firm, Kairos Executive Leadership, he wrote Seeds of Leadership: Nurturing the Leader Within.

Each chapter of Seeds of Leadership, published this month by Emerald Lake Books (https://emeraldlakebooks.com/) in Sherman, Connecticut, offers examples of strong leadership, plus related journaling exercises designed to strengthen the traits and understanding of good practices.

"There are a lot of leadership books, but one of the things I learned was there is no single blueprint," Will says. "I show how to grow yourself and build your career. You can become a better leader, work with people to grow their skills, all while keeping in mind the corporate goals."

The book illustrates three "pillars" of growth — self-leadership, leading others, and planning for the future — that Will developed by watching his father, who owned and operated a convenience store in their native Philippines.

"When I was a teenager working for Dad at the store he would often say, 'We need to see all people the same way. We don't see people who are wealthy as different from those with no money.' So in the corporate world I talked to everyone — the cafeteria workers, the security guards, the cleaning staff. The big joke was that I was the mayor of the company. I want to show them I value them. When I gained deeper knowledge, I realized Dad was the one who started me on my leadership journey."

The journey gained momentum after his team members on the "failed leadership" project told him, one by one, that he was missing important perspectives. He began reading, enrolled in a graduate program, and began receiving recognition for his skills as he practiced leadership at his corporate positions.

Now, Seeds of Leadership (https://emeraldlakebooks.com/leadership) provides those leadership perspectives to everyone.