Archive for April, 2008

Apr 28 2008

Part III: The Three Components of Self-Leadership: A Philosophy of (or an apologetic for) Self-Leadership, The Practices of Self-Leadership, The Disciplines of Self-Leadership

The Three Disciplines of Self-Leadership are….

1. Cultivating Inner Personal Meaning

Deepening Self-Awareness

The capacity to be vigilant about and grounded in your own strengths, limitations, uniqueness, history and emerging identity regardless of external pressures to detach from what you know about your deepest truth(s).

Maintaining spiritual moorings

Sustaining a dynamic connection with a spiritual foundation that provides an interpretation or story of your purpose and journey.

Depth Perception of others

The ability to identify and celebrate the deeper value, worth, dignity and longings of others and to contribute toward their growth and personal discovery through service and empowerment.

Commitment to growing forward regardless

The relentless and indomitable pursuit of forward movement into and out of the vicissitudes and vagaries of life .

3. Constructing an engaging Personal Vision

An engaging vision for yourself

A vision that encompasses your passions and dreams, is aligned with your uniqueness and your present realities and invites you to reach, stretch, and extend but not grasp or claim. A great resource to read for an indepth reflection on personal vision and passion is Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak

A courageous vision for your leadership in the organization

Since leadership is fundamentally about relationships of influence, keep clarity about how your exercise of leadership will advance, strengthen and transform the organizations in which you serve. This includes an ongoing professional development plan driven by a strong internal locus of control.

4. Assessing Personal Impact

Living with Humility and abandoning hubris

Remaining open, teachable, malleable, rather than hardened, closed, rigid, and protected.

Learning from rather than resisting seasons of failure

Becoming resilient by allowing life’s failures to dismantle false constructs and illusions and to deepen understanding and wisdom and enlarge the capacity for love and courage.

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Apr 15 2008

Part II: The Three Components of Self-Leadership: A Philosophy of (or an apologetic for) Self-Leadership, The Practices of Self-Leadership, The Disciplines of Self-Leadership

Part II: Exploring A Philosophy of Self-Leadership

Self-Leadership is neither a “utilitarian tool” to promote one’s advancement through the organization nor is it a “soft” practice that is an “optional” approach to personal and professional development

Rather…..

Self-Leadership is an Essential Personal Discipline that sets the stage for continuous personal change and organizational impact

Why Must Leaders Lead Themselves?

The Stewardship of Your Personal Life

The spiritual foundation of my purpose, destiny and timing.
Endowed with gifts, talents and abilities.
Cultivating the raw material of my life to maximize impact.
Protecting that which is fragile in order to safeguard the delivery of that which I possess.

Your Obligation to the Organization

Seeing vocation as a “calling” (from the Latin, vocare, voice).
I am under contract to bring my best to the organization.
Yet the contract is insufficient by itself to compel me to bring excellence. Delivering excellence is about clarity of purpose.

Your Critical Contribution to the World

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”…Gandhi
Your impact is unique, necessary and unrepeatable.
You will impact others, communities, organizations and the global network in ways that others will not.
The absence of your contribution will weaken any system in which you would otherwise be involved.

Those who are Benefited by leaders who practice Self-Leadership

Oneself
Family
Colleagues
Organizations
Customers/Clients
Local, national and international Communities
The contribution toward the global good

Reflection

How would focusing on each of these areas change the way you think about, approach, execute your work and your leadership Influence?

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