Massage Therapy and leadership? What do those have in common? You might say, “I got into this profession to help people, I don’t want to lead them!” But you do.
Why Leadership?
Leading your clients is an unavoidable circumstance in massage or any other healing profession. It is inherent in the therapeutic relationship. They look to you for guidance. In the therapeutic relationship, one person is always in need. They seek out the therapist to address that need. Your clients will have varying needs, some common themes, but they all are coming to you for help. They look to you for guidance, expertise, assistance, and yes, they want you to lead them to their goal. Sometimes a client won’t even know what they want from you, so again it takes leadership to help them to discover it!
Leaders and healers are both involved in empowering their followers.
You steer the ship. You chart the course. You choose the destination. When you allow your clients to participate in the planning, you are still the one that decides upon how to get there. In some ways it can help to envision your massage practice as a kingdom with you at its heart. Your clients are the people who live in your kingdom (just don’t get too carried away with this image!). People choose to live in your kingdom or not, they must have a reason to stay there. You control that for them. No matter whether it is your private practice or some regular clients at your work, your practice (your little universe) is centered around you (take that Galileo!). If you cease to lead, your universe (or massage practice) ceases to be.
So what makes a leader anyway?
Are they born or made? Most sources will say that although some characteristics of leadership come naturally to some people, most leaders are developed. The good news about that is that it means it is something you can learn to do. If you truly want to be successful in your massage business/career, you need to learn to develop these skills.
Even better news for us all is that there is no standard definition of what it means to be a leader. How is that good, you might ask? Because it means that there is flexibility both in how you choose to emphasize your leadership, and on the leadership characteristics that you choose to develop!
Defining Leadership
In my studies, I have come across numerous definitions of leadership. Here are a few to wet your appetite (not my definitions, although I modified a few slightly):
- “Leaders have the ability to influence others towards challenging goals.”
- “Leaders bring about constructive change”
- “Leaders get people to think, believe, see, and do what they might not have otherwise without your presence”
- “A person with a compelling vision that he/she can communicate to and inspire others with.”
- “A leader is a conductor, director, or guide”
- “One who has influence or power”
In a later segment we’ll take a look at specific leadership characteristics, but first, let’s see where leaders get their power in part 2...
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