Interior Leadership

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The readings in this class were so painful for me, they drove me inward and I made my first deliberate foray into interior leadership. In my cave it was nice, cool and dark. It was hard to recognize any landmarks, so I sat quietly and looked for the light from the dark. I had a great boost from a published interview of Parker Palmer. I agree when he says: "Our culture attributes reality and power almost exclusively to externals—territory, property, wealth, and political access." This is traditionally how I have seen leadership tangibly.

Usually I focus on how the organization operates followed closely by shaping thoughts like kneading bread dough into how I can work with the culture and processes to influence its members. It was a revelation to set this aside and go inside to discover some empty caverns, a few sharp edges and enough black spaces that I knew I needed to back out for the present and get my bearings before I made any deep explorations. I am rewarded with the thought that at least now I know where to start my disciplined development.

To inspire me, Palmer shares the power of interior leadership and its truth when he identifies its incredible power: "I learned it from oppressed people who have no power except inner power—and yet have created great social change. In our time we’ve seen the impact of people like Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and Vaclav Havel, who found the courage to lead from their own deepest truths." Well, when its put that way, it drives me to want to go deeper into my cave.