[Neurons] 2011 Meta Reflections #32

[L. Michael Hall]

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Meta Reflections 2011 - #32

July 18, 2011

 

 

 

LEADERSHIP

AND THE FIELD OF NEURO-SEMANTICS

 

 

In Neuro-Semantics we train leadership skills, we coach people to access and
activate their leadership, we consult for grooming of leadership at all
levels, and we practice leadership.  We even have several who have made
leadership their speciality and niche.  Ah, yes, the practicing of
leadership, the using of what we teach as we apply to ourselves so that we
also can create a team of leaders providing vision, direction, inspiration,
and problem-solving for the future of Neuro-Semantics.

 

I began this focus years ago, first as a reaction to the lack of leadership
in NLP and, second, as a commitment to creating and grooming leaders for
truly taking NLP to a higher level.  The lack of leadership in NLP hardly
needs comment.  The two founders have never talked or acted like leaders.
They never provided vision for the development of a set of values or a
mission for the field of NLP and so, from the beginning, they never created
a community.  I like the two things that Robert Dilts once said:

"NLP was created by two madmen modeling three wild individualists."  And,
"NLP was given birth by Bandler and Grinder, but they never stayed around to
father the movement."  (These are not exact quotes, but the best I recall
from memory.)

 

In the field of NLP, neither of the original co-developers have never
created a Conference, and have never attended any of the Conferences, or
even been intimately involved in any of the NLP Associations.  They have
never taken the lead to provide guidance to those coming up along with them
or behind them.  They never spent time grooming leaders, they never even
took the time or trouble to acknowledge the first generation of leaders like
Robert Dilts, Steve Andreas, Wyatt Woodsmall, or any of those of those
original NLP groups that co-developed NLP along with them.  Actually, they
seem (seem to me) to even do the opposite, like in the discounting of Frank
Pucelik and others.

 

As an aside story, after I developed the Meta-States Model which the IANLPT
organization (International Association of NLP Trainers) immediately
recognized and honored as "the most significant contribution to NLP in
1995," I put a paper on Meta-States Model in the book, The Spirit of NLP
(published 1997) which I dedicated to Richard Bandler.  That same year, when
a German Publisher, Junferman Press, wanted to publish Dragon Slaying,
Richard tried to stop it claiming that Meta-States was his intellectual
property.  He did this through Brahm who managed his San Francisco "First
Institute."  I had to provide proof to demonstrate that I invented
Meta-States, which I did.  So much for acknowledging, validating, and
grooming next-generation leaders.

 

Reacting to the lack of leadership development in NLP, early on I decided
that we in Neuro-Semantics would not make that mistake, but that we would
intentionally and consciously learn how to groom leaders and developers and
welcome them into a team of leaders.  But it took me years to figure out how
to do that.  One of my first attempts was a group of people I called
together that I designated, "The Dreamers."  I figured that we had to get
some visionary people together to dream the future that we would then
create.  Of course, I now realize I was asking for trouble by naming the
group as I did!  Ultimately all that came out of that group was talk, and
more talk, and more talk, then talk about the talk!

 

Then in 2004 I surveyed the field of Neuro-Semantics and called eight people
together who were actually doing things, training Neuro-Semantic NLP,
certifying people, and making a difference.  I called them together to come
to the Gold Coast in Australia to co-lead the Trainers' Training (NSTT).
And that was the beginning of The Leadership Team.  But even then, I soon
discovered that my own pendulum had swung from dreamers to doers.  That led
me to realize that I needed to create a balanced set of leadership criteria.
And that's how the Neuro-Semantic Leadership Criteria came about: 3
qualities for being a leader and 4 qualities describing what a leader does.
(See on  <http://www.neurosemantics.com)./> www.neurosemantics.com). 

 

Then from 2004 to 2010 the Leadership Team grew, changed, and evolved.  Then
in 2010 I called them to San Francisco for a five-day intensive Leadership
Summit where we experienced the intimacy of co-coaching and after getting
deeply acquainted we begin to truly collaborate as visionary leaders taking
action to lead this field, movement, and community.  It was there that we
planned for our every-other-year Neuro-Semantic Conferences and set out to
create a series of training tracks- focusing on various Neuro-Semantic
Diplomas. 

 

Then three weeks ago, the Leadership Team came together for the next
experience for leadership development as Colin Cox and I put eleven of them
through Presentation University.  This intensive and advanced Trainers'
Training is a prerequisite for the Master Trainer Track and also a
proto-type for the next generation program for Advance NSTT and for offering
for Corporate Leaders.  (More about that later.)  Afterwards we had another
Leadership Summit, this time at my home and worked through numerous
leadership decisions (which also will be described more fully later to the
Trainers egroup and the Meta-Coach egroup).

 

Next came the First International Neuro-Semantic Conference (which I wrote
about last week).  Sixty-eight passionate people about Neuro-Semantic NLP
gathered in my home town of GJ (Grand Junction) Colorado for the inaugural
Conference and to experience 20 workshops by the Leadership Team and other
Neuro-Semantic Trainers including Bob Bodenhamer, co-founder with me of the
ISNS.

 

We also installed two new members of the Leadership Team- Femke Stuut from
the Netherlands who is now living in the USA and training the Meta-Coach
pathway trainings and coaching as a Meta-Coach in Nevada and Alan Fayter who
lives in Christchurch, New Zealand as a Trainer and Meta-Coach and who has
been doing "earthquake recovery" there.

 

Several have asked, "How large will you let the Leadership Team grow to?"
The answer is that we will be developing Leadership Teams for all of the
training tracks.  Currently Colin Cox and myself are in charge of the
Training Track and the Master Trainer pathway.  Tim Goodenough is in charge
of Neuro-Semantics applied to sports.  Cheryl Lucas, as president of the MCF
this year and Germaine Rediger are leading out in the area of Meta-Coaching.
I'm in charge of the Self-Actualization track.  Eventually, the current team
will be heading up other tracks, for example Cheryl Lucas and Carey Jooste
will be leading the Health and Fitness track.

 

In other words, there is a lot of room for growth in terms of leadership.
And it all begins at the local area: we currently have 30 individuals who
are Regional Directors (RD) for the MCF (Meta-Coach Foundation) Chapters and
some 50 to 60 chapters.  This is an area where we could easily have 100 RD
worldwide this year and 500 in a few years.  We also have leadership roles
at the level of the Institutes of Neuro-Semantics around the world.  To step
up to leadership at this level and any other level, you have to learn to
think beyond yourself and think in terms of collaborating, creating
cooperative association, and looking for and grooming others to be leaders.

 

Why?  Because a leader is a person who brings out the best in others and who
creates other leaders.  Self-Actualizing Leaders don't create followers,
they create leaders!  They search for and call forth the gifts and skills
and abilities of others so that they can contribute their insights, voices,
and inspiration.

 

Where will all of this go?  I don't know.  When will it end?  I hope, never!
Leadership development and grooming for any growing, continuing rejuvenating
organization is a never-ending adventure.  We need leaders at all levels and
we need leaders in every area.  I hope that you might want to be a part of
the adventure with us.  To your self-actualizing leadership!

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.  Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Neuro-Semantics Executive Director  ----   <http://www.neurosemantics.com/>
www.neurosemantics.com

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO.  81520 USA                             ----
<http://www.self-actualizing.org/> www.self-actualizing.org

1 970-523-7877                                               ----
<http://www.meta-coaching.org/> www.meta-coaching.org

 

     

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Reflection articles by Dr. Hall are sent out every Monday (Colorado time).
Trainers' Reflections are on Tuesdays and Meta-Coach Reflections on
Wednesdays.   Contact Dr. Hall at  meta at acsol.net  

 

 

 

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