How Leaders Safeguard Themselves: Essential Self-Protection Strategies

There is a basic responsibility that people expect from leaders: protection. Leaders are expected to protect those they serve, whether that means their families, employees, or teams. Consequently, in many communities, there is an unwritten rule that you protect your own. Leaders generally do a great job of that. However, I have an important question for you: if you work so hard to protect others, how well do you protect yourself?

Before a flight takes off, flight attendants review the safety instructions with the passengers. One instruction is especially important: In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, put on your own oxygen mask first before helping others. The reason is simple. To help others, you must first be able to function for yourself, which means you need oxygen.

The same principle applies to leadership. When we take care of ourselves first, we are in a stronger position to effectively care for others.

Conversely, if we fail to protect our own well-being, we may eventually lose the ability to care for the people who depend on us. Yet, many leaders spend a great deal of time developing protection strategies for others and very little time considering their personal protection.

The Significance of Self-Protection

Here are a few reasons why we must protect ourselves.

• Available when dependents need us.

• Capable of responding wisely to protect those who matter most.

• Effective at prioritizing.

• Grounded with strong character to lead well.

• Laser-focused on delivering the business goals.

Protecting ourselves goes beyond physical defense in an attack. It’s important to protect ourselves so that we are able and available to lead others effectively in any situation.

A Leaders Essential Self-Protection Guide

Some aspects of self-protection, such as personal safety, comes naturally. Others, such as keeping good records, tend to come from personal experiences.

One friend shared that his hotel room selection criteria are based on a traumatizing experience he had of someone attempting to burglarize his hotel room while he was in the room.

However, there are areas we don’t necessarily discuss or are trained in but, also need to be protected.

1. Personal Brand: Everyone has a personal brand, whether it’s intentionally created or not. It’s formed by what we consistently project, our behaviors, and our characters. The best leaders don’t leave their personal brand to chance. They craft and project the perception they want others to have of them.

A strong, authentic, and trustworthy brand demands protection from being tarnished. Start by becoming aware of your personal brand. Second, intentionally work to safeguard its value through your behavior. As our elders would say, “Protect your name.”

2. Reputation: Great reputations generate instant trust; people view you favorably before you even meet. The company I worked for has a stellar reputation for excellent quality products. The result is they command premium prices.

We earn a strong reputation through a lifetime of consistent actions. Unfortunately, that reputation can be shattered in a matter of seconds by one poor choice or accusation.

Protect your reputation by staying ethical and transparent. Also, to protect yourself against false accusations or doubts about your judgment, develop a habit of documenting key situations and outcomes.

3. Integrity. This is unwavering honesty and having a strong moral compass. We all know someone lacking it. We engage them with a low level of trust because of their standards, such as failing to keep their commitments and having principles that are questionable.

Similarly, when we compromise on our values, we undermine our own trustworthiness.

Guard your integrity by maintaining high moral standards – but first, clarify what you stand for.

4. Calendar: As leaders, we juggle competing priorities. However, our calendars often control us. The issue is that we see a problem and try to squeeze an extra couple of hours into a 24hr day to solve it. I used to joke on Friday afternoons that all I needed was a day added between Friday and Saturday.

Our calendars can take over our lives rather than us managing them. The result? Stress from eating on the run between meetings, and burnout from overload.

Regain control of your calendars by ruthlessly prioritizing what’s most essential, staying focused, and avoiding both distractions and overcommitments.

5. Relationships. I would venture to say that no one reading this article disputes the value and power of relationships—even God affirmed it in Genesis 2:18, declaring it wasn’t good for man to be alone. That underscores why we must protect the valuable ones, not just in words but in actions.

Protect your relationships with authenticity, transparency, and the proper priority. Nurture relationships that help you walk in your personal mission, and protect them from negative and toxic influences.

6. Personal Energy. People depend on us for protection and support – like giving them oxygen. But if we are drained after work and can’t listen effectively at home, we’re trying to help our family without securing our own oxygen mask first.

Safeguard your emotional, mental, and physical energy by setting clear priorities and firm boundaries. When you manage and protect your time, energy, and mental health, you will operate at your peak performance.

7. Personal Safety: Personal safety is about basic wisdom. It has nothing to do with personal risk tolerance. Accidents and threats arise unexpectedly, so we shouldn’t assume we’ll be fine.

The best approach is to consider and establish safety protocols. This is especially critical if you are a public figure or high-level executive. For example, be aware that you may be a high-value target in high-risk countries; opt for hotel rooms on upper floors and away from back exits to deter intruders. Staying healthy and safe ensures you can serve those who depend on you.

This is a list of essential areas to protect; it’s not exhaustive. For example, we must also protect our legacy through those we coach, mentor, and inspire.

Leaders excel at protecting others. However, if we want to do an effective job, it’s imperative that we put on our oxygen masks first by safeguarding ourselves. In that way, we’ll not only have the ability to help but will be more effective at leading our teams and have a greater impact on our organizations.

Empowered Leader Reflection

Which personal area do you most need to protect to better serve others?

If this resonates with you, please forward to others and share your thoughts with us below.

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