The Three Levels of Leadership - Scouller Leadership Blog » Leadership & The Act of Will: Part 4

Leadership & The Act of Will: Part 4

Posted on July 17, 2014 by James Scouller

This is the fourth in a series of five blog articles on the act of will (to return to the first in the series click here).

The act of will is the art of figuring out what to do and getting it done. All leaders, ultimately, have to get things done and this is why it’s so helpful for them to understand that the act of will is a process with six stages.

The act of will is not just a matter of deciding or choosing, as some people think. There is more to it than that. Roberto Assagioli outlined the six stages of the act of will in his book, The Act of Will nearly fifty years ago. His six stages were:

1. Purpose (or aim or goal)/evaluation/motivation/intent

2. Deliberation

3. Choice and decision

4. Strengthening faith/conviction/certainty

5. Planning

6. Directing the execution

In this article, we’ll look at the third and fourth stages: Choice & Decision and Strengthening Faith / Conviction / Certainty.

Stage 3: Choice & Decision

This is where, having deliberated, you choose one goal and let go of the others. This can be hard for those who dislike taking responsibility because of fear of failure or fear of making a mistake. It is the stage some mistakenly think is the act of will. But it’s not, it’s only one phase of it.

Stage 4: Strengthening Faith/Conviction/Certainty

This is the beginning of the action phase.

It’s where you must come to believe without doubt that you’ll succeed, giving you the energy to drive through to completion. You must have complete faith, complete conviction that despite obstacles, you will achieve your purpose – or at least, enough faith and enough conviction.

This stage is therefore about aligning your will and imagination. It’s crucial, because as I mentioned elsewhere, in any battle between the will and imagination, the imagination wins.

Faith largely depends on how we see ourselves – or rather, our beliefs about ourselves. People will vary in their degree of faith about the result depending, of course, on whether their self-beliefs allow them to believe they should even consider such a goal.

Conviction is different – it’s more intellectual; it stems from believing you will find the means to achieve the goal, that your faith is justified. Faith and conviction together bring the degree of certainty that you’re right to push ahead, allowing determined action.

This is why it can be essential to strengthen your faith and conviction through affirmation techniques, including mental rehearsal. But it’s not only about strengthening work. It’s also about seeing and dissolving negative beliefs standing in the way of the goal, including beliefs that say you can’t achieve such a target or that you have no right to even contemplate it.

In my experience, this stage of the act of will is one many leaders ignore or don’t understand. Top sportsmen and women, however, are more likely to recognise its importance, especially if they work with a sports psychologist.

In part 5 we will look at the fifth stage: Planning.

 

The author is James Scouller, an executive coach. His book, The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Knowhow and Skill, was published in May 2011. You can learn more about it at www.three-levels-of-leadership.com. If you want to see its reviews, click here: leadership book reviews. If you want to know where to buy it, click HERE. You can read more about his executive coaching services at The Scouller Partnership’s website.

Posted in Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Qualities & Skills, The Act of Will | Tagged Act of Will, James Scouller, leaders, leadership, leadership books, Roberto Assagioli, the three levels of leadership, Will | No comment