What cause the failure? Why do people with excellent potential get derailed? Can they recover and still become authentic leaders or are they condemned?
"Before people take on leadership roles, they should first ask themselves two fundamental questions: What motivates me to lead? and What is the purpose of my leadership? If honest answers to the first question are simply power, prestige, and money, leaders risk being trapped by external gratification as the source of their fulfillment. There is nothing wrong with desiring these outward symbols as long as they are combined with deeper desire to serve something greater than oneself " say Bill George in his book, True North.
I totally agree with his reflection. At some point, leaders who focus on external gratification instead of inner satisfaction lose touch with reality. Often, this "disconnection" becomes a threat for their organization and turn out to be a major and unexpected failure form themselves.
In observing leaders who derailed, Bill George and his team identified five types of leaders who are more susceptible to lose sight of their True North:
- Imposters, who lack self-awareness and self-esteem
- Rationalizers, who deviate from their values
- Glory seekers, who are motivated by seeking the world’s acclaim
- Loners, who fail to build personal support structures
- Shooting Stars, who lack the grounding of an integrated life
Can you see yourself in any of these archetypes? Be honest with yourself.
So why leaders lose their way? Because they lead without purpose or/and they get distracted by success.
Donald Trump said in his book, Never give up, when he related the major financial challenge he had to face in 1991: It became clear to me that part of what got me into this situation was that I had lost my perspective and started to believe the news stories about me having “the Midas touch” he it came to business. On other words, I had become complacent. My momentum wasn’t where it should have been.
Once you know that your desire of leading has strong roots, what can you do to stay focus?
More and more leaders do not hesitate to declare that they meditate every day. Donald Trump doesn’t do business lunch and take short vacation. It’s his way to keep is momentum.
Personally, I walk in the mountain almost every day. I also meditate every day.
There are two programs I enjoy particularly and remained to bring tremendous results to my coaching clients:
- The brain-based meditation program of Centerpointe. www.centerpointe.com
- The core energy meditation of Kevin Schoeninger’s call Raise your vibration www.mindbodytrainingcompagny.com.
This month, I invite you to find what works for you.
And please remember…
If you fall, fail or derail, just breath. See what you can learn from the experience and move on! The only condemnation is to give up!
To your empowerment!
