Who’s Leading Anyway?
Essential qualities that enhance leadership.
Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems psychotherapy model offers a compelling framework that can be leveraged to enhance leadership effectiveness in a straightforward and powerful way. It follows the premise that we have multiple ‘parts’ at play in our inner world, as evidenced by the varied inner voices and feelings we are influenced by in any given moment. For example, a part of you may feel you should speak up defiantly during a difficult interaction while another part of you tells you to keep quiet and deal with it later. These inner parts of us have roles and agendas that help us navigate our lives; however, they are often protective or defensive in nature and in many cases operate from misinformed or outdated beliefs.
Schwartz also proposes that when we tap into our essential nature, we have access to a vital source of energy that he calls ‘Self’ energy. We know we are plugged into this source when we are experiencing or expressing one or more of its qualities, below.
The eight qualities of ‘Self’ energy:
Curiosity
Compassion
Creativity
Calmness
Connectedness
Courage
Confidence
Clarity.
When we intentionally focus on these qualities and lead from them, we are being Self-led, ultimately producing outcomes which are more effective and more rewarding for ourselves and for the people we lead. How might bringing curiosity and courage shift the difficult interaction mentioned above?
Practice leading from your Self energy, especially in situations where you are uncertain, torn, or not getting the response you intended. Look to these qualities and ask yourself if you are being Self-led or ‘parts’-led? Take a look and see who’s leading anyway?