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?

The Six Powers of Leadership

In some way or another, you are already living within the dominion of The Six Powers of Leadership. It's a simple fact of your existence. If you associate with other people whether as a teacher, an executive, a life coach or a welder, you are under the influence of The Six Powers. You may be a volunteer, a student, a government worker or a philanthropist. It matters not who you are or what you do; if you associate with others, you are affected by - and affect others with - these six powers.

To observe the few who have mastered them is both awesome and inspiring. You know the amazing feeling you get whenever you are near them: they seem to glow with energy and confidence. They have a compelling sense of purpose in their lives. They have a peace and tranquility about them that resonates with others who come near to them. And they have real prosperity. For some, that prosperity is found in tremendous wealth and the assets they accumulate. For others, it is found in health, happiness and indescribable abundance. We are dumbfounded, and we ask ourselves, "How is it done?"

Observing those who have a full command of these six powers is spellbinding. It is akin to watching a mind-boggling magic trick. The audience is entranced, mystified. The events on the stage are simultaneously beautiful and confounding. Again, the overpowering question becomes, "How is it done?"

The untrained observer has no idea how it's done. But once that same observer has seen behind the curtain - seen the mechanics of the illusion - the secret vanishes into thin air, and everything becomes clear. The "magic" is deceptively simple. There really is no magic. There is no mystery. All that is left is a stunning realization of the trick's simplicity. In fact, it's really no trick at all.

Such is the "magic" of those whom we revere for the seeming clarity they have about their purpose and reason for being. They have an almost inhuman ability to be human. There is an uncanny ease with which they attract everything: warm relationships, time, wealth, peacefulness, comforts, and practically anything toward which they direct their gaze. This is no trick. It is no ruse. It is merely a chimera behind which is the truth about their "magic." We come to realize that their appeal, their lure, their efficacy, is really only the result of a skill set. It's the art: the art of knowing and employing The Six Powers. So where do we start in our quest?

We start with the basics. Before we peek behind the curtain, we need to know what we are looking for. We look for the trick, nay the art, to achieving a truly meaningful existence, one full of peace and balance, and of abundance.

As you read ahead, I'd like you to be thinking about some of your friends and colleagues who might appreciate this kind of thinking. At the end of the newsletter, I'll ask you to forward this email to them so that you can continue the discussion within your own circle of relationships.

This and the following newsletter series is an introduction to The Six Powers of Leadership: The Quest for Meaning, Balance and Prosperity. We will take it one topic at a time. Today, it's enough to introduce you to these six powers.

The Six Powers of Leadership

1) 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." How we lead is rooted in who we are. First and foremost, know thyself.

2) The Power of Gravitation: Masterful leaders aren't just good at achieving goals, they know their purpose. The person that you are has gravity and is an attractive force. The concept of the person you want to become must have its own compelling gravity. The gravity of your magnificent future-self must be so compelling that its pull becomes inescapable.

3) The Power of Capacity: People and organizations alike have unlimited capacity for growth. When we stagnate, we're actually falling behind. The Power of Capacity shows us our unlimited potential, and how to release it.

4) The Power of Individuation: Individuation believes in people; it empowers them. It combines respect with accountability. Effective leaders imbue others with the courage to embrace their uniquenesses and then integrate them powerfully into the organization.

5) The Power of Spirituality: Spirituality drives the engine of all of history. It is personal, and yet it is societal. In order to be fully human - to be fully aware - we must uncover our own spirituality, and learn how to relate it to others.

6) The Power of Concentration of Force: Most leaders, most of the time, are trying to accomplish too many things. Concentration of Force is the simple secret to achieving more, faster and more effectively, without additional effort.

So there you have it. We've begun to peer behind the curtain to uncover the simple beauty of the magic. It won't be magic for long as we begin to unmask The Six Powers of Leadership: The Quest for Meaning, Balance and Prosperity.

I look forward to your comments and your thoughts. Further, I do hope you'll forward this link along to some of your friends or colleagues who might enjoy readinig this and participating in the conversation with us.