Jan 05 2009
Developing Leaders | Teachers
Throughout the past month, I’ve been working on this series for developing the inner leader. These are times that are calling us to become leaders and make a difference, whether that is just in your own life, a larger community, or the planet. The type of leadership that we need now is different than the leadership we’ve had in the past. In part, this is because group dynamics are dramatically changing due to technology such as the internet, cell phones and other mediums. But we are also in a time of global transformation which is changing our energetic group structures and calling for a reinventing of how we run our country, our businesses, our families, ourselves.
This series is based on the teachings of Angeles Arrien and her book The Four Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Healer, Teacher and Visionary. Using her wisdom and applying it as a model for leaders, we can bring forth our own inner leadership style of warrior, healer, visionary or teacher (or a combination of all four).
The Teacher Leader embodies the three other types of leadership: the warrior, the healer and the visionary then goes on to foster leadership in others. Before I talk about this more, let’s review the highlights of the other three leaders.
Recap of Leadership Qualities
The Warrior: Show up and choose to be present
The Visionary:Tell the truth without judgment or blame
The Healer: Pay attention to what has heart and meaning
Developing the inner qualities of leadership of the warrior, healer and visionary is a task of personal growth and one that I encourage you to pursue. As these three levels are mastered the fourth leadership style of the teacher can then emerge. The teacher empowers others to bring forth their own inner leader.
In certain metaphysical teachings about reincarnation, the soul is considered to move through 7 major maturation levels, the last being the “Old Soul.” In each level are 7 sublevels that have different themes to be mastered. The 7th sublevel of every level is always about teaching. Before the soul can move from being a Mature Soul to an Old Soul, for example, all that your soul has mastered up to that point must be shared. Sharing or teaching is the action that shows the mastery that has been achieved. Thus, in leaders, the greatest leader of them all is the teacher who brings out the inner leader in others.
The Positive Aspects of the Teacher Leader:
The qualities of a teacher, according to Angeles Arrien, are:
- Is open to outcome, not attached to outcome
- Accesses wisdom
- Teaches trust
- Is comfortable not taking action during times of not knowing
- Has mastered detachment (caring deeply from an objective state)
Harrison Owen, author of Leadership Is states the four principles of detachment beautifully this way:
Whoever is present are the right people to be there; whenever we start it’s always the right time; whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened; when it’s over, it’s over.
The Challenges of the Teacher Leader
- Not falling into righteousness, judgment or control of others or the outcome
- Releasing attachments to the illusions of identity (including job, physical attributes, status, culture, gender and race, etc.)
- Becoming comfortable with uncertainty
Perhaps one of the greatest tools the teacher leader has is the art of listening. To be able to hear past the words and perceive what is really occurring is invaluable in a teacher leader’s tools. At the same time a teacher leader needs to be able to hear the inner warrior, healer or visionary leader within each person. By right choice of words and energetic stance, the teacher leader can then connect the conscious awareness of someone, or who they perceive themselves to be, to their greater wisdom and potential. Detachment is essential in this task because the teacher leader is fostering the wisdom of others…which might be a different form than what the teacher leader might personally think.
When my daughter was quite young she could contact an inner guide who would give her advice. The solutions the inner guide gave to my daughter were never what I would have come up with, but they were always valid solutions. My task was not to edit the inner guide (unless it was wildly impractical!) but to remind her of this resource in a conflicting situation and to help her get in contact with her inner guide. My daughter grew up with a sense of confidence about listening to her own wisdom.
The teacher leader also needs to be wary of assumptions. Just because something is obvious to you, does not mean it is obvious to anyone else. A simple example is when I invite people to leave comments on a post, I’m assuming they know HOW to leave a comment. If I don’t get any comments, is it because no one’s got any thing to say or is it because they don’t know how to leave a comment?
Finally, the teacher leader needs to respect the growth process that another person goes through as they develop their own leading skills. This also requires discernment about the timing of the communication. Let’s say, for example, that I can perceive that a certain person has the potential to be the next president of the United States. Her own perception of herself, however, is only about the capacity to be the president of the local PTA. It could simply overwhelm that woman to hear that her journey starting in the PTA could end up in the Whitehouse! Allowing the process of the growth of the inner leader to unfold at a person’s own pace is the ultimate act of empowerment.
Contemplative Questions for the Teacher Leader:
- Am I open to outcome?
- Am I listening from a place of detachment, trust and belief in the other person’s ability to find his own way?
- Am I daily accessing my own wisdom?
- Am I showing others about being a leader through my own acts of leadership?
- Can I honor the process, not just focus on the end result?
- When I don’t have the answer, can I wait patiently in a state of not knowing?
In the next post, I will be featuring a podcast healing meditation for the four types of leaders along with some great inspirational quotes from other great leaders. In the meantime, share with us what acts of leadership you’re taking in your life now (or will be taking).
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Laughing as this threw me for a loop when I could not find a way to leave a comment except to click on phrase “No Comments.”
This caught my attention–Am I listening from a place of detachment, trust and belief in the other person’s ability to find his own way?–because I’d noticed with certain people a high level of doubt creeping in, such as “does this stuff work?” It seemed to get in the way often. 2008 seems to have been about that in a big way for me. It was difficult to differentiate between my doubt & another person’s. Then I read today on a biz site how “uncertainty is our existence.” We can’t know everything - not even if something will work for ourselves or someone else. It’s part of growth.
To balance this, it seems that the last two bullets above are key.
Thanks for your continued insightful blogs!