This first task of a leader is to lead themselves. Dee Hock the former CEO of VISA and noted author of “The Chaordic Organization,” talks about the necessity of 360 degree leadership. He states that we lead up (meaning our supervisors), we lead out (meaning our peers), we lead down (meaning our direct reports), and we lead in (meaning ourselves). The distribution of time to each of these areas looks roughly like this: Up 20%, Out 15%, Down 15%, and In 50%. Dee Hock states that leading “up” is to clear the road for the work of our team while also keeping senior leadership informed. Leading “out” is about collaboration, synergy, and processes. Leading “down” is about equipping, teaching and coordinating. Leading “in” is about addressing those things about ourselves that need to be managed in order to be successful with the changing opportunities and challenges.

The question I see as paramount for all of us as leaders is: “Do we lead what we are or do we lead what we have, or by what we have?” The difficulty for the majority of us is that we have so little real understanding of what it means to be ourselves. The constraint isn’t that we lack knowledge of what we can do as much as we lack understanding of who we are. Said differently, we are more than just the tool making animal that thinks and has self-awareness. Our shared ignorance is not in that we lack knowledge, but that our knowledge is false. What we believe about ourselves is too often fragmented, distorted and merely a historical rendering of our experiences versus a description of a deeper essence. Here is the problem related to the acceptance of a false identity: we largely become what we think of ourselves.

In leading “in,” we are not looking around to see if whether or not “we’ve got it,” as if “it” is something that we can obtain, rather the question is: “Have we accepted an adequate model of ourselves that describes our humanity, our task, our endowment and choice? What is the critical point of this?…the adedequacy of our idea or model and its’ governing effect. Psychologist state that we don’t perceive the world directly, but through a lens. As we do the work of self perception, let us first determine if the interpretative lens we use is adequate and helps us see and know what is both permanent and transitorily true about ourselves.

For too many, the notion that they have of who they are is constructed. This is the first and greatest mistake. There is indeed a cause and effect in some fashion out of the experiences and events of our lives, but who we are in my idea is NOT something largely constructed, but rather given. . . and what is given is a statement of our intrinsic value, and that value is one of divine appointment. What is needed are images, encouragement and discipline to resist both the panic and the seductions of the spirit that come from a society that mainly knows about specialness and value in terms of what we achieve or possess.

How does this idea or model shape the choices we make as leaders whether addressing personal or professional matters? If we understand that we are more than our grades, more than our titles, more than what our parents or social network have said about us, or more than the latest performance eval, and gain clarity of the Imago Dei (Image of God) in ourselves, then our leadership becomes bounded, purposeful, strong, love based, and able.

Regularly, we will be with others who escape from the real because we fail to know the truth. Often, we will see others coping with a form that is familiar at the cost of a life liberated and expanding. This day, we will spend far too much of our time as leaders managing distortions - our own and others - more than proactively advancing as worthy leaders of great impact. Too cynical for you to accept? For me, it just speaks of how deep we are in the illusion.

Today I will listen to my sons wrestle with issues of identiy, adequacy, and intimacy. Today I will listen to my wife wonder if she has enough in her to accomplish what she sees as her dreams. Today I will attend a funeral of a young man who was an absolute delight as a human being but struggled to know that for himself. Today I will talk to a senior leader who has gained the ground of his professional life through his life long rage against being abandoned by his father. Today I will call my dad who struggles with Parkinson’s and too often asks “Is it worth it?” Today I will attend to my own intrapersonal conversations about “who I am,” and at times have to course correct because of my own fears and immaturity. Although it is true that each of us have limits of what we are ultimately capable of doing on our own, the foundation of identiy is far more formidable and complete than our typical tools of determination and critique.

The first task of a leader is to lead themselves. How are you doing with that task? Before you can contribute as a worthy leader of great impact with those above you, alongside you, and those still as emerging leaders, you must address your own ideas of yourself.

I heard him say, “He told me that I have nothing more to work on,” as if he was now exempt from the responsibility of courageous and worthy stewardship. I was shocked! Can it be that people really believe that they are largely done with growth and development after they have completed what they have identified as remedial? For many, once they have complied with the present rules, they feel like they now can collect the “get of jail” card and be left alone to themselves and to their present behavioral norms. I don’t want to accept that people are largely interested in going invisible to not only others, but to themselves regarding their immaturity, constraints, and distortions. Ignorance, hiddeness, slothfulness and outright lies are seemingly a balm that far too many opt for versus truth that frees. It is far too easy to allow these distortions to take away the time of our lives that ultimately is required to create the life that we believe we will live. Thich Nhat Hanh says that “Peace is every step.” Consciousness of this step, this breath, this person, this situation, this opportunity, is the very thing before us to meet, understand, improve AND WORK ON. All of us are responsible, some of us respond. How about you?

My reflections this week stem from conversations concerning employee satisfaction and keeping the bar high! Inclusive in this are persons who want to be leaders of impact. Not just a little bit of impact to stem tides of discontent, but the kind of impact that changes people and therefore the culture of an environment (i.e. school, office, and factory floor). (The only time I want to be little is when I am in my bathing suit or skinny jeans). Otherwise, I want to be BIG; BIG in the game of life!! It’s part of helping others to “be not small” in their leadership… how they do life and who they are, right?

So much has centered on maintaining high percentage of engagement by lower level employees – assessing levels of trust, respect, recognition, and commitment to what’s right, not necessarily easy. I submit for your own reflection, some simple leadership reminders illustrated in a book, “It’s Your Ship”, by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff, recommended to me by a client/friend (thanks Darren):

See the company through the eyes of the employees:

• solicit suggestions
• Reduce tedious chores that provide little value
• Communicate, communicate, and communicate – the plan…frequently and clearly.
• Create discipline by focusing on purpose: make them believe that what they do and who they are…are important!
• Listen aggressively: what are the needs?

o Knowledge – training
o Respect – kind words
o Affirmation – recognition

• Empower, encourage, employ ideas, and reward exceptional performance, effort, and loyalty.

Nothing earth shattering here…nothing new to learn…it’s basic. So what’s the rule of the game? It’s where everybody has a clear awareness of how his or her work makes an impact. Remember, we are all leaders; we just have different areas of influence and different talents in how we can impact change. Therefore, the first job of a leader is to crystallize where the business is going (vision) and how (strategy) it is going to get there. (remember, YOU are the “business” too!) Then the second part, the part with the biggest barriers, is the execution of the intentions; will you have the will and the discipline?

Will you embrace the BIG concept of leadership and create a trickle down culture that empowers sustainable conviction? Will you ‘own’ the combination of knowing the why and how (intellect – head) with the passion of the purpose (emotional – heart)? Accountability is the top of the leadership pyramid and supports the BIG objective: Be the Impact for the Greater Good!! Not to be redundant…but it is part of that faithful leadership thing; doing what’s right based on core convictions that align with the accountability lens of community (micro-community or stakeholders).

Might sound hokey…but good ideas come in simple truths. We’re the ones who try and make it more complicated than it has to be. Much like faith…you don’t know if you have enough to stand on but your feet are already in motion. Risking takes a lot of courage.

- Trudy

Lying awake early this morning I was already busy trying to anticipate, control and prepare for what I knew was before me later in the day. Leading a business whether earnings before taxes of a few million, or 30 billion, is filled with big issues as you try to grow, remain profitable and exceed expectations of your customers. I have said it often, if you want to run into your personal monsters, start your own business, or go after something bigger than what you can control. Today I was feeling stressed! Thoughts around deadlines, big opportunities, solutions that were difficult and in need of a miracle raced through my mind.

What do we do when we are unsure of what to do? Do the next thing! I don’t mean aimlessness, but the bias toward action wins out every time over being frozen in fear and doing nothing. So I got up and started my day. I played basketball with the guys, did my early morning routines, then started into my list of things to do. I think I have learned that mere awareness of what I have to do only increases the stress if I don’t also trust a process that gets the work done well. The question I had to face today was, “do I have an excellent mechanism to move me from being stuck in my toxic pool of stress, to executing well and experiencing inner peace?” This is an issue you face. What is your process or mechanism that converts your intention to results? Everybody wants productivity and the spoils of victory, very few are actually successful. Take a half a day and don’t just work in the business or for that matter in your life, but on the business and on your life. Create the mechanism that helps you be more productive and worry free.