[Neurons] 2014 "Neurons" -- Meta Reflections #6

[L. Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

Meta Reflections 2014  #6

February 10, 2014

Modeling Great Leaders #3

 

 

 

IDENTIFYING ADDITIONAL 

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES IN MANDELA

 

 

 

In the last Neuron's post, I wrote about several of Mandela's leadership
qualities.  Here I want to mention two additional ones.  I'll begin with
Mandela's relationship to time as a concept and as a mechanism of
leadership.  I find this a fascinating aspect of his leadership and one so
needed today.  In the book, Mandela's Way (2012), Stengel says that Mandela
was "disciplined about time."  Knowing that history was not made overnight
and that today's racism and repression had been incubated over centuries if
not longer, with that awareness he knew that it would take time to undo it.
In conclusion Stengel wrote this:

"Mandela is a long-distance runner, a long-distance thinker." (p. 173)   

"Mandela thought in terms of history.  And of course, history is the long
run."

 

How different this is today from so many of our current leaders especially
those who have been infected by the short-term thinking bug.  "I want it
now!"  In business this is actually epidemic.  Business leaders can hardly
get their nose above the "this quarter returns" to think a year or two into
the future, let alone long-term.  If something doesn't immediately get
results or turn around a disappointing ROI, they impatiently drop it and
introduce the next big thing.  The result of this is that so many of our
leaders are not disciplined about time and they suffer from a myopic vision
of the future.

 

Yet leaders have to think about the future and especially in terms of
creating a visionary future that excites and inspires people.  What happens
if leaders do not do this?  Ah, without a vision of hope and enthusiasm,
work becomes drudgery.  It loses its ability to attract and excite.  The
work itself ceases it be valued as meaningful, so people need to have extra
rewards and entertainments to keep interest in what they are doing.  Then
organizations have "motivation problems" among the workers.

 

Thinking about the future in a visionary way so that it attracts the best of
people and so that it brings out the best in people also requires having a
meaning that excites people.  It means that the business involves more than
just making money.  Making more money and giving our more money will only go
so far.  And after that, it has diminishing returns.  There has to be
meaning- a message worth giving one's best for.  And that certainly
described Mandela.  Stengel's book highlighted this.  He wrote that Mandela
was very conscious of the messages that he sent by word and behavior.

 

The first was a message of transcending prejudice.              "I do not
play favorites."  I'm above prejudice (94).  Amd as an attorney, he pursued
his original training in law because he belived that "Justice has to be
blind" (109).   And in thinking about apartheid, he view the frame of
prejudice as the problem.  "We are all victims of the apartheid system"
(122).  In saying that, he meant even the people who have been trained to
support the system are victims of it as well as those who suffer from it.
"I am a man of the people."  He said that he never wanted to come across as
an elitist (95).  "He told black voters that he would be their champion and
white voters that he would be their protector." (97).

 

His visionary dream was to create a new democracy in Africa.  His over-
arching goal: to create a new nation. (173).  "My great goal is bringing
constitutional democracy to South Africa" (113). "I am the father of a
rainbow nation." (98).   "Africans can govern themselves; Africa can be a
continent of constitutional democracies." (202).

 

Perhaps one of his most shocking beliefs and messages to his followers was
when he said: "I believe in seeing the good in others, that it might
actually make them better." (118).  And, "It's best to err on the side of
generosity." (124).  He said that at the time when he was a prisoner and he
used that message to relate to his jailors.   In NLP we operate from the
premise that "behind every behavior is a positive intention."  That is,
people don't do evil things for the sake of being evil.  They do things that
hurt others because they are trying to survive, protect themselves, get
approval, etc.  they are just meeting their legitimate needs.  The problem
is that they are meeting those needs in ways that are not ecological for
them long-term or to others.  The result of t his way of thinking and
perceiving is that he was able to keep himself from getting bitter, hateful,
or revengeful.  "I am a man without bitterness."

 

What does all of this suggest?  It suggests that true leaders lead people in
terms of meaningful messages.  Not only is there an exciting future, there
is also (and perhaps more important) rich meanings in their proposal.  It
can be meaningful for a wide-range of reasons.  If you take the
self-actualization being-needs that Maslow identified as the truly human
needs and drives- the meaning could be about any one or more of those:

Knowledge, meaning, excellence, order, giving love, justice, fairness,
equality, music, beauty, contribution, making a difference, etc.

 

Why is this important?  Because we live by meaning.  Without meaning,
there's no inner life or joy in anything.  So leaders- take notice.  Think
long-term, be a long-distance thinker.  Think about meaning and
meaningfulness.  Find your message that's full of meaning that bathes
everyday life in more sacred meanings.

 

 

 

 

Neuro-Semantic News of Coming Events

.        Meta-Coaching Module II and III in Colorado this July.  Write
Michael Hall at meta at acsol.net for brochure and information 

.        NSTT - this July 19  - August 2, Rio de Janiero, Brazil --- write
to Dr. Jairo --- jairo at pnl.med.br for information.


 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

                Neuro-Semantics Executive Director 

                Neuro-Semantics International

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

                1 970-523-7877 

                Dr. Hall's email:
<mailto:meta at acsol.net\hich\af31506\dbch\af31505\loch\f31506> meta at acsol.net


     

    

What is Neuro-Semantic NLP?

Neurons:  Get your free subscription to the weekly International \Post on
Neuro-Semantics by Dr. L. Michael Hall. Subscribe at:
wwww.neurosemantics.com 

 

    Solutions:  Sign up for the Neuro-Semantic Newsletter ---
<http://neurosemantics.com/newsletter> neurosemantics.com/newsletter. 

 This is a monthly newsletter for anyone new to Neuro-Semantics.  Femke
Stuut, Editor.

 

Coaching: For world-class Coach Training - The Meta-Coaching System:
www.meta-coaching.org and \
<http://www.metacoachfo/hich/a/hich/af31506/dbch/af31505/loch/f31506%20f3150
6/dbch/af31505/loch/f31506%20undation.org/hich/af31506/dbch/af31505/loch/f31
506/hich/af31506/dbch/af31505/loch/f31506> www.metacoachfoundation.org.
Meta-Coach Reflections sent every Wednesday to the group of Licensed
Meta-Coaches.

 

Self-Actualization: Neuro-Semantics launched the New Human Potential
Movement in 2007, for information about this, see
<http://www.self-actualizing.org/> www.self-actualizing.org  

 

NSP --- Neuro-Semantic Publications: Order books from Neuro-Semantic
website,  <http://www.neurosemantics.com> www.neurosemantics.com  click on
Products and Services and then the Catalogue of books.  Order via paypal.  

 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://eight.pairlist.net/pipermail/neurons/attachments/20140210/424db2a1/attachment.html>