Everyone is a leader. This is part of my leadership philosophy.
There are issues that we will be confronted with as leaders during the remainder of the twenty-first century. I would like to outline one particular theme that I believe will be the most important to you as leaders.
More specifically, I will be exploring perspectives of leadership with a higher purpose.
A lot of the research that I have compiled is from Brad Jackson and Ken Parry. They have written extensively on various leadership concepts and theories.
According to them, leadership with a higher purpose is about delving into the motives of a leader and into the heart of a leader.
I have been pursuing leadership to contribute as much positive energy as I can into our world through authentic and spiritual leadership.
These leadership theories, along with ethical leadership, all share a concern for others that is rooted in altruism, they foreground the integrity of a leader, and they highlight the importance of role modelling.
It can be difficult to reach this level of leadership.
I am reminded of Dr. David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness, which has 17 levels with Shame at the bottom, Courage in the middle and Enlightenment at the top.
It is my understanding that while we can pop in and out of these 17 different levels at various times, there is usually a predominant level that we vibrate at.
Apparently, 85% of the world’s population is vibrating below the critical level of Courage. Courage is at level nine out of a total of 17 levels.
I know for me, I’m still moving through a period of self-awareness and self-discovery in pursuit of personal mastery and while part of my life is calibrating at a higher level of consciousness, other parts are calibrating at lower levels.
It is daunting and challenging work in terms of embracing all of who we are, the light and the dark. And as daunting as this may sound, it is simply impossible to avoid this work if you want to see change in the world.
This work, that is, the work of authentic leadership, is the ultimate act of courage. You are basically making your unconscious conscious. Any aspects kept unconscious may haunt you, cause you suffering, and be projected on to others and the world in unhealthy and hurtful ways. Academic scholars have argued that authentic leadership is only possible alongside a high degree of self-awareness and an openness to feedback that enables continuous improvement over time, which takes courage and determination.
Authenticity can be described as knowing one’s true self and acting in accord with that true self.
What resonates most with me are the benefits of authentic leadership – There are enormous benefits to leaders themselves as well as to organizations and individual followers.
As outlined by Brad Jackson and Ken Parry, authentic leaders are predicted to experience more positive emotions, improved well-being, and greater leadership effectiveness.
For organizations the most discussed benefit is fostering a more positive culture or climate.
And the most dramatic benefits proposed to arise from authentic leadership are those for individual followers where followers of authentic leaders are predicted to exert greater effort, engage in more organizational citizenship behaviour and enjoy better work performance, improved well-being, and increases in psychological capital.
Looking beyond authenticity, the topic of leadership covers many concepts and theories – all of which, together, provide a fulsome, yet complex, and at times conflicting, understanding of the realm of leadership.
As I mentioned earlier, my belief is that we are all leaders. We are all here to lead in our own unique way. There is no doubt that some have embraced the call of leadership and have worked to, and continue to, reach their potential while others are perhaps still exploring, or maybe are unaware of their leadership abilities, yet some may even be struggling with or outright rejecting leadership in their lives.
In a sense, I connect leadership to health where those aiming to live healthy lives, including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health, are on their path of leadership. Further, I believe leadership is about constructively meeting needs on a daily basis while expanding to higher and higher levels of life.
Richard Barrett, who has written numerous leadership development textbooks, has stated that there are three questions we should all be asking ourselves every day: Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? These questions, when continuously answered, will move leaders along their process of evolution, along the higher levels of life, as they embrace a continual state of transformation and change.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, has access to these levels. Our access is based on the choices we make everyday. What choices are you making?
Leaders in the twenty-first century need to be conscious leaders, that is, leading from a place of authenticity.
The process of authenticity is about going within yourself, your current reality, to discover, or rather re-discover, a clear and certain knowledge about yourself in all regards and behaving consistently with that self-knowledge. The process of authenticity is not about emulating or adopting the latest leadership characteristic or style, in fact, this is the exact opposite of authenticity where one can be perceived as developing the image or persona of a leader.
Reaching a high level of authenticity requires a focused and committed dedication as well as tremendous courage to do the internal work that many individuals resist or perhaps don’t even realize is required.
According to Bill George, a professor at the Harvard Business School, accepting your shadow side is an essential part of being authentic. You’ll need to know yourself wholeheartedly and you’ll need to do the internal work that needs to be done.
Perhaps this is a utopian vision of mine, but I look forward to more and more people emerging this century and next as leaders with a higher purpose (myself included).
The world will be a better place if we have more leaders pursuing leadership with a higher purpose. Simply stated, it’s about showing more love and kindness toward ourselves and others, and creating positive experiences for all individuals that we encounter on our leadership paths.
SOURCE: Jackson, B., & Parry, K. (2007). Very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. SAGE Publications.
SOURCE: https://www.billgeorge.org/article/harvard-business-school-authentic-leadership-rediscovered.
© Brooke Somers (2022)
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