The Three Struggles
I have often asked myself what are the main struggles that leaders had to confront and what are the key elements for them to develop their potential without giving up in their way. To address this question I decided to learn from the experience of successful leaders of the business and academic sectors, musicians and religion leaders from Uruguay, Argentina and the US. I share with you in this note some of the lessons that I learned from conversations with more than forty leaders that I deem successful.
The leaders that I interviewed, regardless of area where they work, have faced the same three personal struggles.
All the respondents were able to develop and find a sense of purpose. However, in achieving this aim they struggled because the lack of a meaning appears camouflaged under three masks that can put a break to personal development: power, possession and doing.
Power. Leaders must fight against power ambitions; these ambitions usually act as substitutes for the lack of a meaning. The leaders that I interviewed agreed that when one lacks a clear sense of purpose our own fears and our ego increase and these are toxic to our personal and professional development.
Possession. The notion that we can have all what we want is considered one of the main enemies of personal and professional development. This erroneous notion sets false expectations and it’s an important cause of dissatisfaction and a source of conflicts with our teammates, the people we report to and our customers.
Unbounded power to do. Successful leaders fight against the false idea that we can do all what we wish. Project managers are often distressed because they lack discretion when it comes to define important aspects of the projects they lead; they focus on this and in so doing they lose influence and productivity. Others resist the idea that their influence has limits and overreach; this ultimately creates barriers to their professional careers. The general manager has problem with regional managers because they feel they loss power, and the same can be found down the line of command throughout companies.
A CEOs of a British multinational company with presence in the five continents highlighted the relevance of asking ourselves the following question: “How do I want people to remember me once I retire” He also stated that once one has a clear answer to this question everything else falls in place and works.
Those that guide themselves by their wishes have only ambitions; this is ultimately related to ego. On the other hand, those that guide themselves by purpose have aspirations and this is related to potential. The dimension of anything depends on the dimension of that with which it is compared. We size the problems we face. The deepest the sense of purpose the smaller problems are and vice versa.
This article was issued by PMI Latin America.
