Your #1 Team as a Leader Is the One in Your Head

The #1 team in your life is the one in your head.
Most people don't even know it exists.

“We should absolutely do this!”
”Oh no, absolutely not!”
”Seriously, let’s do it.”
”Are you sure?”
”Not now!!”

Sounds like a normal team meeting? Could be! But it’s also the exact thought process going through billions of brains every day.

This team meets every morning before you open your laptop. It vetoes decisions you thought you'd already made. It panics during the presentation you rehearsed thirteen times.

The angel and the devil on our shoulders.
The brain says this, the heart says that.

Inner voices belong to our life. But they are way more nuanced than these idioms make us believe. And they can become a problem when you just let whoever’s loudest run the room.

I've known the concept of the “inner team” for ages. My German school teacher noticed how much I loved language and writing – and recommended the books of psychologist Schulz von Thun. I devoured them.

The inner team was part of them. And it seemed so charmingly simple: listen to your inner voices, give them names, let them talk. Done!

240+ hours of professional coach training later, I'd phrase it a tiiiiny bit differently.

They carry values, core beliefs, personality traits, life phases, needs. They argue, form alliances, dominate, shy away, collaborate – all at once. Some shout. Some haven't spoken in years.

They deserve leadership and facilitation.

It’s the perfect training ground for leading a diverse mix of strong personalities into one functioning team.

When you lead your #1 team well, you lead your actual team with more clarity, purpose, and presence.

1. Become the leader of your inner team.
2. Be the leader of your team.