Stewardship Begins Within: Diagnostic
A diagnostic of self-stewardship and the founding of Be The Waves – a new mindset, movement, and collaboration for leaders who want to lead with care, courage, and conscience.
Stewardship Begins Within
Introducing the Ten Facets of Self-Stewardship
Before we can lead others, or shape organisations, sectors, or systems – we must first learn to steward ourselves.
It sounds simple. Yet many of us spend years being productive, driven, even purposeful, without ever truly feeling that we are able to care fully for what’s within our care, or being given licence to do so.
Being able to Stewards an organisation, or a system begins with being able to steward ourselves and that diagnostic and honesty sits at the heart of stewardship.
What Stewardship Really Means
Stewardship is the act of holding responsibility with conscience.
It’s a mindset, a movement, and a collaboration.
It’s leadership that balances organisational responsibilities with the wider needs of people, place, and planet – honouring the past, serving the present, and preparing for the future.
Stewardship doesn’t ask What can I achieve?
It asks What will I leave behind?
At Be The Waves, we describe stewardship as leadership grounded in equity, care, contribution, and courage – qualities that ripple outward from how we lead ourselves, to how we lead others, to how we shape the world we share.
Bringing Stewardship to Life
Through Be The Waves, we’re turning that philosophy into practice through:
Our manifesto, already sparking powerful conversations
Interviews with leaders modelling stewardship in action
Sector and cross-sector gatherings exploring stewardship across industries
A team of coaches supporting leaders and teams to embody it in their work
A Circle of Founding Stewards – a diverse group helping guide the work as it grows
Whilst Be The Waves is about the collective, my role as founder and coach is to steward the movement itself – and to work with leaders who want to steward more consciously.
That, of course, begins with self.
The Ten Facets of Self-Stewardship
Over the past 24 years of coaching leaders across sectors, I’ve noticed that those who lead with depth and clarity cultivate a particular kind of balance.
Not a checklist of traits – but ten interdependent facets. Ways of being that keep them aligned, resilient, and human.
They are:
Self-Awareness – Seeing clearly before acting boldly.
Integrity – Aligning action with values.
Compassion for Self – Caring for yourself as the foundation for caring for others.
Courage – Acting with conviction despite uncertainty.
Curiosity – Replacing judgement with wonder.
Accountability – Owning your choices and their impact.
Purpose – Orienting decisions around what matters most.
Rhythm – Balancing drive with depth; effort with rest.
Grace – Meeting imperfection with humility.
Legacy – Living with awareness of the ripples you create.
Each one matters.
But it’s the balance between them that defines self-stewardship.
Too much courage without compassion becomes burnout.
Too much purpose without rhythm becomes obsession.
Too much accountability without grace becomes shame.
Self-stewardship is the art of knowing when to step forward – and when to breathe.
It’s the discipline of listening inwardly before acting outwardly.
Why It Matters
In a world of constant pace and noise, self-stewardship isn’t indulgence – it’s infrastructure.
It’s how leaders sustain integrity in complex systems.
It’s how good people keep doing great things without losing themselves in the process.
When we tend to our inner ecology – our values, energy, habits, and hope – everything else grows more naturally: trust in teams, clarity in organisations, coherence in systems.
Stewardship, like nature itself, begins at the roots.
The Self-Stewardship Diagnostic
I’ve created a Self-Stewardship Diagnostic for anyone who wants to lead with more congruence and calm. Whether you’re a CEO, a creative, or a community leader, it invites you to slow down and take stock.
It isn’t a scorecard. It’s a mirror.
It helps you see where you’re thriving, where you’re stretching, and where your inner compass might be asking for recalibration.
Once you’ve completed it, reflected upon your scores, you can begin to identify the changes that will enable you to steward yourself - and in turn others.
Download
If you’d like a copy, email stefan@stefanpowell.co.uk with the subject line Self-Stewardship Diagnostic and I’ll send one your way.
The First Step on the Stewardship Arc
The Self-Stewardship Diagnostic is the first stage on what I call the Stewardship Arc – a developmental path that flows from:
Self → Team → Organisation → Sector → System → Planet
Each layer builds on the one before it.
Because you can’t steward systems you can’t sustain yourself within.
So this is where we begin:
Tending to what’s within your care.
If that’s where you’re ready to start – the workbook is waiting.
What Comes Next
The next stage of the arc looks outward:
How we steward relationships, teams, and the rhythms that hold them.
That’s coming soon.
For now – take a quiet hour, a pen, and the diagnostic.
You might be surprised by what you discover. Because stewardship isn’t about doing more.
It’s about doing what matters.
With care, courage, and consistency.
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For now; thank you
I am…
An executive coach and the CEO of Be The Waves, growing stewardship for a thriving planet.
I helping good people lead great things; in other words - I empower Stewardship
Good people care about others, our planet and beauty. Great things are changes for the betterment of society and all that lives within an around it. It sounds big and fun - it is.
I'm also an endurance racing cyclist and a go getter.
You can read more about me and what I do; how I work here