The flaws of leadership and the point of equilibrium
Over the years of my professional and personal journey I developed my leadership model. The more I worked with it intellectually, the more it became a hate love. The „hate“ aspects have condensated into the identification of two major flaws. On the one hand the idea of leadership is flawed as it suggests that leadership is something that is adopted by leaders in order to lead others. It suggests a fundamental distinction between those who lead and those who are led. Without this distinction, what’s the case of leading? Imagine everyone would lead, who or what should be led then?
Well, in fact, I have empirically observed and learned from Mary Parker Follett, there is a very clear case for leading beyond hierarchy, and that comes into place when leadership is decoupled from roles and titles and at the same time connected to the pulling energy of a deeper sense of purpose. Leadership then becomes what Follett called dark matter. But that’s not what I’d like to talk about today.
The second major flaw with the idea of leadership is that it suggests that the state where we are is, in some way, insufficient. In other words, we need to go somewhere else in order to reach something, to become different and eventually to suffice better and reach a higher state of completion or even a „true completion“ altogether. There is a huge body of literature as well as a million bucks money making leadership training industry that sells the promise.
The result of my studies, my experience as well as my personal development is that the essence of leadership is to be in a deep state of presence. This implies two things. Firstly, all leadership starts with leading myself (that’s like 80% of the leadership work). As a general rule, I can only lead others to the extend I have managed to lead myself. In fact, I lead by holding a space that is somehow bigger than that of whom I lead. This ability for self-leadership is nurtured by a high level of 360° awareness on what’s happening with myself emotionally.
The level of sensitivity regarding myself is a result of my work having turned numbness into awareness. As result, the depth of my inner balance is lifted. When I feel myself in a state of inner balance, I also feel the world in balance. Consequently, there is no need for the world to be different. The idea that the world should be different, comes from our own mental narrative, especially related to morale, and that’s like 99% illusion. When I feel my inner balance reflected in the infinite balance of all existence, everything is in a state of equilibrium.
It is exactly from that place of equilibrium where we can make powerful and truly informed decisions. Perceiving us with the world in a state of equilibrium connects us to the infinite sense of being. That is, ultimately, where the power of coaching, gets into the game. There are three levels of balance involved in a coaching process.
- The coach is effective by being in the state of inner balance.
- The clients feel empowered by discovering opportunities for increased inner balance.
- The emotional relationship between coach and client is in balance.
More to follow.
