Last time we began to explore four ‘Disciplines’ that are crucial for the Leader and/or potential Leader to consider embracing, developing (or developing more fully) and integrating. This morning we will continue our brief exploration; we will explore the other three disciplines.
Reflection. I recall a President of a large for-profit business telling his direct reports: ‘In a crisis don’t just do something, sit there!’ Before you ‘act’ stop, step-back, reflect and then re-enter and engage. The length of time one takes for reflection will vary. At times the time is brief – perhaps a minute or so and at other times the period of reflection might exceed many minutes. I have had the privilege of helping folks in seven different countries (these countries are homes to a variety of cultures); for almost all of these folks the Discipline of Reflection is more than a simple challenge. There is no ‘set time’ for Reflection: One can take the time to reflect prior to acting, one can reflect as one is acting and one can take the time to reflect after the action has been completed. What is crucial is that, as Charles Handy noted, ‘Reflection plus Experience is the Learning!’ Here are three ‘reflective’ questions that might help guide one: (1) What are you/were you attempting to achieve? (2) Did you succeed? (3) Was it worth doing (that is, what were the intended and unintended consequences; what was the affect upon you and upon others; would you do it again, the same way, if at all)?
Inquiry. Leaders, like teachers, like to ‘tell’ and ‘direct.’ If the Leader wants the other to bring his/her voice then Inquiry is the key Discipline. There are three types of questions that the Leader can offer. The first invites an immediate response; the second invites a response to be offered in the ‘near future’ and the third is a question that is ‘held.’ The great German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke provides us some guidance to this third type of question: Hold and ‘live’ the question and someday in some way you might live into the answer. Parker J. Palmer notes that the most powerful question for the Leader is the one that comes from a ‘place of not knowing.’ Questions are to be addressed and responded to – the crucial questions will have no simple answer. As one author noted: Complex questions have simple answers – and they are wrong!
Listening. As Robert K. Greenleaf advised Leaders many years ago: ‘Listen first.’ Listen, he advised, in order to understand. The prayer of St. Francis can also be a guide for Leaders: ‘Lord, grant that I may not seek so much to be understood as to understand.’ In order to listen, the Leader must be fully present in the ‘now.’ The Leader listens to what is emerging within self – the Leader’s Physical dimension will ‘speak’ to him/her; the Leader’s Intellectual dimension will ‘speak to him/her; the Leader’s Emotional dimension will ‘speak’ to him/her and the Leader’s Spirit(ual) dimension will speak to him/her. At the same time, the Leader listens to what is emerging from the other and the Leader will pay attention to the other’s verbal and non-verbal expressions. The goal, as noted above, is to listen in order to understand. Greenleaf asks: ‘Why is there so little listening?’ Greenleaf bookends this question with the following question: ‘In saying what I have in mind, will I really improve on the silence?’
There are other disciplines I consider: the Discipline of Humor, the Discipline of Story-Telling, the Discipline of Searching Conversations (that is, of folks thinking well together); and the Discipline of Uncovering (for example, it is important to ‘uncover’ and ‘reveal’ integrated Metaphors, Core Values, Core Guiding Principles, and deep Tacit Assumptions).
Gentle reader, at this time in your life, which of these disciplines do you need to develop or develop more fully? Why? How will you know if you have developed a discipline or developed it more fully?