The First Power -- The Power of Self-knowledge

This is the second in the series entitled, The Six Powers of Leadership - a Quest for Meaning, Balance and Prosperity. My last edition provided an introduction to this groundbreaking series. Today, I'm presenting The First Power - The Power of Self-Discovery.

More than 2500 years ago, in the seat of western civilization, Greek philosophers and oracles championed the expression, "Know thyself." Self- knowledge is of the highest importance if one is to lead, because how we lead is rooted in who we are. First and foremost, know thyself. Few do.

Most people don't really know themselves. They spend their lives trying to "be somebody" at the expense of being who they already are. It's hard to discern why this is true. Perhaps they lack self- esteem. Perhaps they feel threatened by today's culture. Whatever the reason, an inability to "know ourselves," as well as the fear of not being accepted, weakens our ability to lead. Leadership from a base of false self is not leadership. It's acting.

To lead by emulating others is not only contrary to reason, it is also debilitating. It causes stress, guilt, frustration, loneliness, and even deep depression. The practice of being other than who we are eventually makes us prisoners of our own egotism.

The first step in overcoming this dis-ease is to discover the true self. This discovery develops self-esteem. Self-esteem overcomes fear. Fearlessness generates confidence. Confidence empowers leaders.

History's most dynamic and effective leaders are people who have found themselves. Imagine a world in which leaders try to emulate the styles of other leaders. There would be no growth, no innovation - just a world of frustrated copy-cats. History teaches us that the most notable and most effective leaders were unique in all the world. They were unique because they were... themselves.

To lead, you must discover your true self.

The process of self-discovery is much more than gaining an awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses. My experience has led me to identify three unique areas of this discovery process - Intellect, Inclination, and Intuition.

Intellect includes one's thinking, experiences, skill sets, education, and reason. It incorporates the self we think we are-the face we show to the outside world. Some parts of Intellect are easily measured and reported as I.Q. and S.A.T. scores, proficiency tests and other forms of objective measurement of our ability to think, reason and learn. Others include learned skills such as music, painting, debate, or a host of other acquired competencies.

Inclination pertains to applying our natural drives and abilities to the task at hand. When we make use of these drives and abilities by which we are naturally compelled, work becomes play and time flies. We are consumed with the joy of being and doing because we are in our element, using our inherent gifts and talents to work with people and the world around us.

Intuition is perhaps the most powerful and least understood of the three. It is our primal response system, the "inner voice" that each of us knows but cannot easily define. It's the expression, "I've got a bad feeling about this," immortalized by the character, Han Solo, of Star Wars fame. In a nano-second intuition reads every synapse, every sense, every feeling, every memory. Our learning, our values, our innate and deepest convictions are all accessed simultaneously without our cognition or will. Intuition's power is dizzying, yet often scorned by our culture as a fantasy - a figment of the imagination. Intuition needs no proofs. It is its own proof.

This tripod of diverse elements forms the strong base of person-hood. Each leg defines one of these three foundational elements in our journey to self-discovery. Each deserves the same level of analysis due the other; it is only then that one can begin to "be" - or as Carl Jung put it - to come "out of the mist."

Self-discovery is not an end; it is a process - a dynamic and evolving process. The Power of Self- discovery grows stronger with every step we take along its path; our productivity and effectiveness grow in direct proportion.

You are uniquely designed to be someone, but that someone is not someone else. That someone is you. Most of us allow our true selves to be buried by the expectations of others - society, the falsehoods of the media and our own lack of self-confidence. Discover who you are. Being you is something that no one else on the planet can do. Why not begin to do it now?