The Three Levels of Leadership - Scouller Leadership Blog » Self-Mastery & Leadership
Self-Mastery & Leadership
Lao Tzu, the Chinese sage (not the bloke who wrote The Art of War – that was Sun Tzu), said this about self-mastery: “He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”
I agree. In my book, The Three Levels of Leadership, I talk about self-mastery as the key to taking command of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour in the service of others as a leader, especially when you’re under pressure. I believe it’s the essential discipline of the third level of leadership that I call “personal leadership”.
Definitions
I defined self-mastery in chapter 3 of the book as, “Being aware of, understanding, taking command of, integrating and transforming the limiting parts of your psychology to overcome inner divisions and become whole, to grow and to express your highest potential.”
Later on, in offering a leader’s map of the psyche in chapter 8, I asked: “What is the ‘you’ that is being aware of, understanding, taking command of, integrating and transforming its psychology?”
The answer I gave is “Self.” This led me to another, simpler definition of self-mastery: “It is the Self’s mastery of the energies and contents of its mind.” The rest of chapter 8 offered a practical map of the mind and chapter 9 outlined the principles and techniques of self-mastery.
Dalai Lama Fellows
Given what I believe is the importance of self-mastery in becoming the best leader you can be, I’m always interested in how others define it. On the Dalai Lama Fellows website they describe self-mastery as having 8 elements:
- Being Present: Being fully aware and awake in the present moment – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.
- Compassion: Having acceptance and kindness to oneself and others, and an intention to alleviate suffering and promote well-being.
- Suspension and Letting Go: The ability to experience a thought or emotion without reacting or responding right away.
- Personal Power: Using one’s energy and drive to manifest wise actions in the world.
- Holding Paradoxes, Multiple World Views and Ambiguities: The ability to sit with ambiguity and hold multiple perspectives when working with others.
- Intention Aligned With Higher Purpose: Using what moves you at your core to assist others in the world.
- Whole Self-Awareness: The life-long process of paying attention to all aspects of yourself.
- Sense of Humour: Light-heartedness and never taking one’s self-image too seriously.
Process vs Results
Now when I talk about self-mastery I usually focus on the process rather than the results so this is a different way of looking at it. But it’s a valuable perspective and as a set of self-mastery outcomes, I wouldn’t disagree. Interestingly – as readers of my book will know – there are overlaps between the eight-point list and what I describe as the seven qualities of presence.
But it just goes to show that truth can never be adequately expressed in words. There is always another angle. In listing the DLF’s eight points – which, by the way, they adapted from work by Christopher Baan, Phil Long, and Dana Pearlman in The Lotus: A Practice Guide for Authentic Leadership Toward Sustainability – I hope they’ll enrich your understanding of why practising self-mastery as a leader is so beneficial.
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.
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