Our moment of disruption deals with death and rebirth. What’s dying is an old civilization and a mindset of maximum “me”—maximum material consumption, bigger is better, and special-interest group-driven decision-making that has led us into a state of collectively creating results that nobody wants. What’s being born is less clear but in no way less significant. It’s something that we can feel in many places across Planet Earth. This future is not just about firefighting and tinkering with the surface of structural change. It’s not just about replacing one mindset that no longer serves us with another. It’s a future that requires us to tap into a deeper level of our humanity, of who we really are and who we want to be as a society. It is a future that we can sense, feel, and actualize by shifting the inner place from which we operate. It is a future that in those moments of disruption begins to presence itself through us. This inner shift, from fighting the old to sensing and presencing an emerging future possibility, is at the core of all deep leadership work today. It’s a shift that requires us to expand our thinking from the head to the heart. It is a shift from an ego-system awareness that cares about the well-being of oneself to an eco-system awareness that cares about the well-being of all, including oneself. – Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer, Leading from the Emerging Future
Leaders Embracing Vulnerability Leaders that are comfortable with their vulnerability demonstrate several shared competencies and values. While there are not universal, there was significant enough over-lap to merit generalisation: • • •
Self-authorship and authenticity Values-led Collaborative
Self-authorship and Authenticity Self-authorship means that instead of depending on external values, beliefs and interpersonal loyalties, an individual relies on internal generation and coordination of personal beliefs, values and loyalties.24 It is a source of personal authority that integrates values, beliefs and relationships with actions.25 Contributors shared how embracing their vulnerabilities empowered them to reframe perceived weaknesses as strengths or opportunities to do things differently (their “own way”) and work with other people. Owning their experience, rather than accepting other peoples’ value judgements of them, gave them control over their “story” and therefore agency to choose a different narrative (much like our martial artist in the previous section). This was associated with authenticity, and qualities that contribute to resilience and thriving, such as positive self-esteem, self-compassion and a sense of coherence.
24
Baxter Magolda, Marcia B., Elizabeth G. Creamer and Peggy S. Meszaros. Development and Assessment of Self-Authorship: Exploring the Concept Across Cultures. Stylus Publishing, 2010. Book. .
25
Kegan, Robert. In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Harvard University Press, 1998. Book.
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