lead, v.
to be the way, to influence, to aim ahead
authentic, n.
real, genuine, true, valid
We live in exponential times. The speed with which information
and innovation roars into our lives each day is unprecedented.
It’s as if we step from our beds to the crest of an 80-foot wave!
A leader today must be able to stay on the board while surfing
monster waves of pressure and paradox, change and chaos, instability
and unpredictability — and be credible enough to inspire others.
What are the qualities we need to do that?
Leaders today must first be self-leaders. They must
cultivate capacities of authenticity. Authentic leaders find wisdom
and strength from the three strands of wisdom — a clear mind,
an open heart, and present-centered attention.
Authentic leadership is less concerned with what
and how, but with who and where: who
are we and where do we act from? The philosopher J. Krishnamurti
said, “The crisis is in our consciousness, not in the world.”
This is the open secret all authentic leaders must come to know:
reality starts inside, within our own consciousness, and then
moves outside, as our own creation. This is why authentic leaders
seek to know themselves and their inner consciousness.
The quality of a our consciousness shapes the context
of our leadership, just as the sincerity of our conversations
and the transparency of our actions create our credibility. Authentic
leaders ask themselves questions to awaken wisdom and expand awareness:
Where do my thoughts, my words, my actions come from? What
is the quality of my consciousness as I create and externalize
reality? Am I a victim of habitual mental patterns of perception
and reactive ways of action, or am I truly open, responsive, and
creative? Am I seeing and acting from fear, isolation, and urgency;
or from the deep still source of clear awareness?
Authentic leadership development helps to decrease:
..
knee-jerk decision-making
..
impatience and frustration
..
tension and anxiety
..
hypocrisy and dishonesty
..
anger and blame.
Authentic leadership development helps to increase:
..
openness and listening
..
creativity and intuition
..
stillness and silence
..
empathy and equanimity
..
holistic seeing and integrated decisions. |
Your commitment to the development of a deeper self-knowing as
the essence of leadership growth has had profound effect on all
of us. Your expertise with inquiry has helped to generate a clarity
of inner knowing that has had a lasting effect. Thanks, Robert,
both for myself and for the value you brought to our work with
Cellular One, Tupperware, Intel, and our other clients.
