A winning approach to leadership

(c)2002 by Ben Brink

A Winning Approach To Leadership, My approach

1. introduction

My leadership style is simple to state, complicated to explain, and so full of traps in trying to follow that it seems impossible at times: "Love God" (Baba, 1986). Both words defy consensus in meaning. Its roots are outside intellectual discussion. The style pivots between the objectively measurable and the experienced yet objectively immeasurable --the subjective. This paper attempts to describe some important leadership principles I follow, but does not argue validity through critical thinking or attempt to convince others to try it. One would have to address many apparent contradictions and conflicting principles --extending the paper considerably.

Peter Koestenbaum points out that "you can't get around life's inherent contradictions. [Leadership] has ample room for the ambiguities of the world, for conflicting feelings, and for contradictory ideas... the central leadership attribute is the ability to manage polarity" (LaBarre). I call it "complexity"--the fragmentation of supersymmetry into a kaliedescope of concepts that end up contradicting each other when their paths loose direct connection from the source. Understanding and meaning are foundational components of communication skills that must be utilized in leadership and discussion about it.

2. approaching leadership

Leadership is about guiding towards a purpose or goal. Just as sportsmanship includes ethics of behavior, I believe leadership also includes ethics of purpose (and ethical behavior). The subject of ethics has its own quagmire of perspectives. For simplicity's sake, I submit that one goal of leadership is to help others. Leadership often assumes that one guides others, however I believe it is about guiding oneself for the benefit of others. To guide oneself, one takes an active role in one's life --using critical thinking in the management of daily activities in creating intelligent action --and inaction when one is unsure. Intelligent action requires objective observation, learning, and intuition. My approach to leadership is practical mysticism. One is guided by one's conscience, empowered by physical abilities, and acts according to circumstances.

"Mysticism is often regarded as something anti-intellectual, obscure and confused, or impractical and unconnected with experience. In fact, true mysticism is none of these. There is nothing irrational in true mysticism when it is, as it should be, a vision of Reality. It is a form of perception that is absolutely unclouded, and it is so practical that it can be lived every moment of life and expressed in everyday duties. Its connection with experience is so deep that, in one sense, it is the final understanding of all experience." (Baba. 1987, p 5)

3. leadership qualities

The qualities of practical mysticism complement ethical and total quality management guidelines. I have distilled guidelines mainly to items based on strong character traits. Core values can provide focus, guidance, motivation, and inspiration. Here are a few:

• use diplomacy (negotiate)
• practice diligence, understanding, forbearance, courage
• find ways to increase self-esteem, and courage, but not at the expense of others
• maintain an attitude of cheerfulness, enthusiasm and equipoise by limiting worry
• be responsible, practice integrity
• be respectful, practice personalism (other-orientation)
• aim to providing complete and real solutions that encompass entire problems
• some questions are more important than answers
• keep focus
• be socially responsible
• be concerned with the process more than the results.
• be committed to life-long learning

4. be respectful, practice personalism

Personalism is about trusting, respecting, and genuinely taking interest in and serving others (other-orientation). When initially dealing with others, adapt to them on their level, do not expect them to adapt to you (Kruger). By level, I do not mean to imply social-standing --only a varied state of being that revolves around identity, culture, and primary motivations such as wanting recognition, to be cared for, and given an opportunity to grow (with an acceptance of no growth also). To adapt, a leader needs to recognize these aspects and initially engage communication based on others' truths without compromising one's own truths and reality.

By serving others, one comes to know oneself and becomes more human --in a naturally positive, noble and beautiful way. Koestenbaum states that "you need to dedicate yourself to understanding yourself better -- in the philosophical sense of understanding what it means to exist as a human being in the world" (LaBarre). I perceive the process of getting to know oneself as spirituality.

Leadership skills help one find rational perspectives of reality --essentially practical, because it can be experienced in the mundane. Moreover, through the mundane, one can come to understand all experience. Living a spiritual life is essentially about loving God, ie Divine Love --which is not for the faint-hearted or the weak, but is requires strength and understanding. It is about helping others in spite of oneself. It is about giving without thought of one's own needs (Baba 1987). It helps strengthen ones intuition and view the world more accurately and in greater detail, thereby increasing opportunities and the scope of influence. Koestenbaum states that "the best leaders operate in four dimensions: vision, reality, ethics, and courage" (LaBarre).

Koestenbaum states leadership is about motivating people by "risking yourself with a personal, lifelong commitment to greatness -- by demonstrating courage" (LaBarre).

You don't teach it so much as challenge it into existence. You cannot choose for others. All you can do is inform them that you cannot choose for them. In most cases, that in itself will be a strong motivator for the people whom you want to cultivate. The leader's role is less to heal or to help than to enlarge the capacity for responsible freedom. (LaBarre)

5. Leadership in team work

I feel this leadership approach has the great benefits in teamwork, when most all team players use a leadership approach based in life-long learning and serving others. This kind of team can operate on a set of work values, ethics and professionalism that defy encoding into a book of procedures because the range and parameters of application are too diverse. A book of protocols and procedures would be too voluminous to be practical to maintain. The likelihood of it being read decreases with every new page. That stated, worker liability, safety, health, and security can be monitored and managed using a supportive socio-cultural environment.

I work in a team environment. Work conflicts would kill the process if leadership was not practiced by everyone. Conflict is addressed through negotiation and a desire for win-win outcomes. On projects, the conflicts may be more regimented through a series of expert hierarchies --if the issue is related directly to work. If the conflict is about behavior problems, then the team uses a series of positive steps to influence behavior. Each case is different. Action depends on psychological factors such as self-esteem, attitude, self-expectations etc. A framework for solving the problem is developed in conjunction with the individuals involved; If the problem is serious, the solution may be multi-faceted to help with constructive support in the shortest time possible. Changes are monitored by the team for further learning opportunities etc.

In some instances, arrangements are made to keep opportunities for conflict low. Most of the time, we prefer to work out the conflict to the benefit of everyone. Still, sometimes conflicts have root causes that we are not in a position to address, so measures are put in place to reduce opportunity for conflict. For example, at one point a few years ago, two team members went on vacation, leaving an office assistant to manage the books. Over a period of two weeks, the assistant found quasi-legitimate (legit to her but no one else) justifications for essentially emptying the company's main expense account (usually sufficient to last for half a year). Before this, the person's behavior was satisfactory in managing the accounts and there were no indications that behavior would have changed. The person had managed other similar situations in larger organizations with written policies etc. Yet, the assistant's behavior did change in this social-culturally managed environment. Subsequently through problem analysis, the rest of the team realized this person had a self-esteem problem; This person felt important when spending the company's money. The person has remained a great worker, but has not be placed in that position again. Now, during similar circumstances, the expense account is refreshed according to budget. Everyone wins with this approach to leadership.

6. Bibliography and Citations

Baba, Meher. (1986) The Path of Love. San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented. (p.109). [online]. available from http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/lovegod.html

Baba, Meher. (1987). Discourses. (7th ed.). Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar P.

Kruger, Pamela. (1999 June). A Leader's Journey: Paul Wieand went on a quest.. Fast Company, 25. [internet]. available from http://www.fastcompany.com/online/25/wieand.html

LaBarre, Polly. (2000 March). Do You Have the Will to Lead? Philosopher Peter Koestenbaum poses the truly big questions.. Fast Company, 32. [internet]. available from http://www.fastcompany.com/online/32/koestenbaum.html

"personalism" Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://www.search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=60839&sctn=1&pm=1 [Accessed 29 November 2000].