Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of October 27th
An Invitation
Today I am reflecting on this question: What inspires someone to willingly sacrifice to be great… to be a true champion? I believe the answer is not found in material gain, status, or prestige; those things are all false promises. I believe mastery of any form, be that in leadership, athletics, parenting, teaching, etc., is initially perceived as an invitation to excellence. Motivation is deeply personal; the levers of motivation are inside us. No one willingly chooses to seek perfection simply for a company’s mission statement or set of abstract organizational values. They do, however, seek perfection when those larger purposes become personal purposes. The decision to respond to the invitation to excellence is deeply personal. No one can will us to seek excellence; each of us must be willing to accept the invitation, make the company’s goal our personal goal, and then turn that invitation into inner motivation. The question all leaders must ask, therefore, is this: Do we offer our people the invitation to excellence, and if we do, is it worthy of them accepting?
Immersion
When I reflect on how we learn leadership today, I think a common mistake is to take an outside view; as if we stood external to a concept and looked into it. That has never worked for me. To truly learn leadership, like any master craft, we have to immerse ourselves in it, feel it, and experience it from an inside perspective. When we study great historical leaders, we can immerse ourselves in their experiences and empathize what it was like to navigate their tests, trials, and challenges. We don’t copy them; we learn through immersing ourselves in the feeling of the experience, wrestle with the truths of the experience, and force ourselves to appropriate the truth for ourselves. Likewise, when we reflect and contemplate our own leadership experiences, we re-immerse ourselves into the moment just passed, and if done with moral courage, we likewise mine gold in terms of lessons learned and inner growth. When we immerse ourselves in leadership experience, we actually deconstruct ourselves so we can re-emerge stronger, wiser, and more self-aware.
Discovery
In the past, I have reflected on the nature of motivation, and my firm belief the levers of motivation are on the inside of us, not outside. Too often, we make the mistake of thinking we can motivate others. The truth is, we can only motivate ourselves, and then through our example, hope to inspire others to find their own inner fire. I always try to remember this fact: No mission, no vocation, no job, is motivating until it is personal. I believe this insight is important because it reminds us people are most inspired, and most energized, by what they discover themselves rather than what we discover for them. Again…the levers of motivation are inside us! The leadership lesson is to help guide others to the prize of self-discovery, not give it to them. Leaders metaphorically point to the gem in the ground, and let others dig to discover the reward on a very personal level. In my own leadership experience, this form of self-discovery, this digging for my own leadership gold, has been the highest form of motivation, and likewise, the highest form of growth.
From Disorder to Order
Why is the pursuit of self-mastery the most important requirement for heroic leadership? Because self-mastery, like the champion archer’s stance, is the only way to ensure the arrows of our leadership affect most consistently arrive at the bulls eye of our intent. When we focus on self-mastery and self-discipline, we are in truth moving ourselves from disorder to order. If we don’t consistently allocate intentional time and energy to self-mastery, through reflection, practice, preparation—then we truly never confront ourselves in any real way. Consider this image: Self-reflection and self-mastery are like going outside your warm home every day to jump into ice-cold water. We need the regular shock of honest self-reflection to candidly see our inner disorder, and then, to discern the path to better ordering our lives. We must build these solid inner foundations—a trustworthy inner authority—before we can effectively lead others. We must willingly jump into the ice-cold water of self-mastery to transform ourselves from disorder to order.
Catalyst
At its core, leadership is influence. And much like an chemical reaction, a leader serves as a catalyst for action and behavior. There are always present the raw material to be catalyzed; things like mood, behavior, perspective, attitude, character, ambition, and vision. These raw elements lie somewhat dormant, awaiting the right catalyst to ignite them, and transform them, into purposeful intention. That is leadership, and that is the role of leading. This is why I have long used the image of the ancient Alchemist as a metaphor for heroic leadership. Like the Alchemist, great leaders are always in the lab, perfecting their craft, striving for mastery, and honing their ability to transform raw elements into gold. The craft is never quite finished, nor the goal line ever quite reached. The virtue is in pursuit of mastery. Every day, in even the smallest things, exist opportunities for leaders to serve as catalysts; to be the positive spark igniting once dormant potential into thriving possibility. The raw elements are ever-present. But it is a daily choice for leaders to catalyze them into gold.
Check back next Monday for a round up of this week’s social media shares. Or check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest to see our posts every day!
Tweet Share