The Three Levels of Leadership - Scouller Leadership Blog | » 2013 » April

Will Practising Self-Mastery Mean I’ll Have No Feelings?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by James Scouller

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 Qualities & Traits

Posted on April 7, 2013 by James Scouller

Many people believe that leaders are born not made and think all leaders share certain leadership qualities. Thus, they believe, the key to having good leaders is to find people with the right leadership traits… and perhaps give them some training.

The Problem

Now leaving aside the question of whether leaders are born or made, which I’ve addressed in this blog article – “Are Leaders Born or Made?” – there’s a problem with this line of thinking on leadership traits: research shows there is no universal, common set of leadership qualities. Continue reading →

Leadership: Is It Lonely At The Top?

Posted on April 2, 2013 by James Scouller

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 →