The Three Levels of Leadership – Scouller Leadership Blog » leadership
Does Paying Attention to Limiting Beliefs Reinforce Them?
After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful. Here’s the seventh in the series. I’ll post the others over the coming months…
Q7. I’ve heard it said that paying attention to ideas and habits only strengthens them, so won’t I only strengthen my limiting beliefs if I unearth and examine them?
“There’s a difference between paying continued attention to limiting beliefs and simply defining and examining them in the process of letting them go.
Let’s define our terms. For me, ‘continuing to pay attention to these beliefs’ means giving them the energy of your consciousness (your pure self-awareness), causing you to believe they are so true that you identify with them. And because you identify with them, you habitually act on them. Continue reading →
Can A Negative Self-Image Reduce Awareness?
After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful. Here’s the sixth in the series. I’ll post the others over the coming months…
Q6. If you have a negative self-image arising from limiting beliefs and negative feelings about yourself stemming from the beliefs, can that reduce your self-awareness?
“In one sense yes, but in another sense, no…
Numbing Yourself Against Feelings
I say ‘yes’ because if you decide to defend yourself against the limiting beliefs that make up your negative self-image and their painful feelings (above all, shame) by numbing yourself against them, you can indeed reduce what you are consciously aware of. Ironically, such decisions are usually unconscious.
Note what I just said: ‘you can reduce what you are consciously aware of.’ Continue reading →
Will Practising Self-Mastery Mean I’ll Have No Feelings?
After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful. Here’s the fifth in the series. I’ll post the others over the coming months…
Q5. You say you can experience feelings of joy while learning to be detached as you grow your leadership presence by practising self-mastery – but won’t detachment mean no feelings?
“Your assumption that if leaders practise detachment they won’t have any feelings is important… and incorrect. So let’s start by being clear about detachment and attachment. Continue reading →
Leadership: Is It Lonely At The Top?
Most of us have heard people say things like “it’s lonely at the top” or “the leader’s role is a lonely one”. But people rarely question this conventional wisdom. Yet from my experience as an executive coach I believe it’s an idea we should question.
So is it really lonely at the top? No, I don’t think it is. In my view, the leader doesn’t have to be lonely.
Loneliness versus Aloneness
About 15 years ago, when I was a managing director, someone said to me, “Of course, it’s lonely being MD isn’t it?” I replied, “No, it’s not. Sometimes it’s true, I do feel alone in my responsibilities, but I never feel lonely.”
Let me explain why I said that… Continue reading →
A Brief Look At Charismatic Leadership
The purpose of this short article is to give you a bite-sized insight into charismatic leadership. So what is charismatic leadership?
It’s the name given to a particular leadership style – in other words, it describes the behaviour of a certain category of leaders.
The term “charismatic leadership” draws on the word “charisma”, which comes from the Greek language and means “gift”.
Thus, charismatic leadership relies on a leader’s personality gifts to influence others and shape their future. Such gifts can include great wisdom or insight, heroism, extraordinary certainty about the future and perhaps even the claim of a direct link to God.
However, charismatic leadership demands more than just an exceptional personality. Continue reading →
Leadership, Culture Change and the NHS
This is my longest article since I started the blog two years ago. That’s because it’s dealing with a tough, complex subject – how to change the culture and performance of the NHS following the recent spate of scandals and the hundreds of unnecessary deaths in mid-Staffordshire.
Background
If you’re not British or living in the UK you might not know what the NHS is or why it’s hitting the headlines right now. So let me explain. The National Health Service (NHS) – launched in the UK in 1948 and funded by taxation – offers free medical treatment at the point of delivery. So for example if you go to a NHS hospital for surgery, you won’t have to pay. But the NHS is caught in a scandal that’s hitting the headlines and isn’t going away. Continue reading →
Leadership Styles Quickly Explained
The term “leadership styles” is often used interchangeably with “leadership models”. However, for me, leadership styles are different from leadership models. I see “leadership styles” as referring to descriptions of the ways in which real-life leaders behave… whereas leadership models are ideas about how to be effective in action as a leader.
Seven Leadership Styles
So what are the main leadership styles? Into the category of leadership styles, I’d put: Continue reading →
Are Leaders Born or Made?
After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful. Here’s the third in the series. I’ll post the others over the coming months…
Q3. Are the characteristics of a leader already installed within ourselves or are they something we develop over time in our environment?
This is like the classic question, “Are leaders born or made?” The short answer is “both”, but research shows they’re much more “made” than “born”. Let me explain… Continue reading →
Are The False Self’s Limiting Beliefs Always False?
After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful. Here’s the first in the series. I’ll post the others over the coming months…
Q1. This afternoon, when you were talking about Self and False Self, you said that limiting beliefs of the False Self are never true, that they’re always false… but how can they always be false? How can you be so sure?
“We need a quick recap on what we covered earlier before I answer your question. You see, from conversations I’ve had today, I know some of you assumed that when I talked about False Self limiting beliefs I was referring to “I can’t do…” style beliefs. But I wasn’t. Continue reading →
Caring About The People You Lead
Caring about the people you lead is one of the keys to getting the best possible performance from them. The best leaders care about the conditions their colleagues are working in. They care about their morale. They care what individuals are feeling. And they care how well everyone is working together.
Twenty-five years ago, a book called A Passion for Excellence contained a powerful example of what it’s like when a hardened leader cares deeply about his people. It was a speech by Melvin Zais, a U.S. Army General to senior officers at a staff college: Continue reading →
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