Why you need to grow up in your leadership practice
Psychological maturity as a leadership development path
Last week we talked about how important developing embodied self-awareness is for psychological maturity and leadership. Did you try the practices I gave you? Leave a comment below to let me know how it went for you.
But what is psychological maturity, exactly, and how does that relate to being a Purpose-driven leader?
This week we are going to explore theories of adult development and how they relate to discovering, embodying and leading with Purpose.
Leadership is about creating the future
Leadership is the emergence of the deep Self. It is moving from persona to essence and from essence to the world service.
Bob Anderson and Bill Adams
There are so many definitions and theories of leadership out there. Some of them are quite complex.
For me, at the deepest level, I believe leadership is about creating the future.
The kind of future that is possible for us depends on the capacity, depth and embodiment of our leader(s).
If a leader lacks the capacity to connect with their Total Intelligence (mind/body/spirit/soul), they are leading with incomplete information and run the risk of creating a future that is life-harming (whether to ourselves or the world) unintentionally. The outcomes a leader creates with incomplete information are ineffective at best, and harmful at worst.
If leading is about enhancing our collective power to create the future, psychologically mature and soulfully embodied leaders use their Total Intelligence to enroll and collaborate with the Total Intelligence of others to create a future that is life-affirming and generative.
That is how you doing your work to deepen your capacity is an act of service that supports others.
I often think of leadership as the act of stewarding Life along its evolutionary edge.
The complexity of the Now is our raw material that we use to create what's next for us.
And since the evolutionary impulse of Life itself speaks to us through our sensations, it stands to reason that our capacity to create the future is dependent upon our capacity to be present with our body wisdom and our sensations.
Beyond our embodiment work, having a psychologically mature ego and partnership with our mind is critical for interpreting our body wisdom in a way that is actionable and relevant to our current leadership challenges.
Theories of adult development
Your Soul is both of you and of the world. The world cannot be full until you become fully yourself.
Bill Plotkin
If you are familiar with adult development theories, this illustration will help you see the correlations with the development of Purpose.
If not, don't worry. I'm going to give you a brief run-down of both of these and how they relate.
Let's start at the bottom of the table. When I say "bottom" I do not mean to refer to this stage as inferior or less valuable than the later stages. It's simply earlier on the continuum of development. I want to be clear that as we take this journey, there are no "bad" stages, and we can exist in many stages along many areas of development at once.
Socialized mind and reactive purpose
In a socialized mind or reactive purpose, external sources shape our sense of self and understanding of the world. Our purpose at this stage is to get our needs met by any means necessary, often resulting in some sense of betrayal of the Self.
This can give the feeling of fragmentation or inauthentic behavior. It comes with a particular embodied experience, too.
Think of a time where you acted out of integrity with yourself, or in reaction to your environment in a way that didn't feel like the "real" you.
Notice how reliving that brings certain sensations with it right now. Perhaps these sensations were present in the moment that this was happening.
Why might it be important to know what this reactivity feels like your body? How could you use this in the future?
Self-authoring mind and creative purpose
In the self-authoring mind or creative purpose stage, we define who we are. We are no longer defined by other people, our relationships or the environment.
Our purpose in this stage is to live the question: What do I want to create in this lifetime? Who do I want to be in order to create the life I want?
This is an empowering place to be. A lot of really great work is done here. Leading from this place is powerful and effective. We can feel quite fulfilled here.
And, there is an embodied experience of this too.
Can you think of a time when you felt empowered to create something that came from YOU and not from your reactions to your environment?
When you were collaborative with others, authentic and got results?
As you think of this time, what do you notice in your body right now?
You are likely re-experiencing some of the sensations that were happening in your body while you were living and leading from your Creative Purpose.
Why might this be useful to know?
Self-transforming mind and soul purpose
In the self-transforming mind or soul-purpose stage, one’s sense of self is not tied to particular identities or roles, but is constantly created through the exploration of one’s identities and roles and further honed through interactions with others.
You are not a leader, but you can meet Life where it's at, using the Now as raw material for learning and creating the Next Now. And that is leadership.
Our purpose at this stage is to live the question: What does Life want to create through me, right now, in this moment? (hint: your body is telling you through your sensations). What are you moving toward? What are you moving away from?
Have you ever experienced this level of presence and non-attachment? What was that like for you?
Coming home, discovering trauma, and finding healing through leadership
The reality is that healing happens between people. The wound in me evokes the healer in you, and the wound in you evokes the healer in me, and then the two healers collaborate.
~Rachel Naomi Remen
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about trauma, dissociation and healing in the journey of coming home to our bodies.
When you begin to listen to how Life speaks to you through your body, you will likely discover places that hurt, or that you've turned off to protect yourself. You may find that you don't trust yourself or your body, or that you have a hard time even accessing your body wisdom.
This is entirely normal. The journey to life-affirming outcome creation requires that you touch these hurt places, these places that lack trust, these places that are numb.
Each leader's healing journey looks different. Your body and intuition will tell you what it needs to heal. And with time, practice, and commitment, you will begin to see that deep in those wounds lies a profound wisdom that could be the medicinal balm that others seek.
These wounds do not block your path to leadership; they are your path.
And you are already on the path; you are right where you need to be, and you are right on time.
And with every moment of healing, your body will begin to feel more at ease, more trusting, more available, and more eager to share its wisdom with you and others.
And eventually, your very being helps others heal in this way, too.
That is why I share practices for learning life's language and building the capacity to listen to it.
And if you would like personalized support in this work, feel free to book a consultation call below. This is my life’s work and I am humbly honored to hold space for leaders as they navigate these waters.
This work matters, and I am so grateful that you are here doing it with me.
May all beings and the planet benefit.
Soulful blessings,
E
Purpose coaching is one of my all-time joys, especially in the context of leadership. If you are interested in receiving some support in your purpose discovery and embodiment journey, book a free consultation call below and we can talk about options.
