The 22 Imperatives of Leadership: #2 – Self Awareness

Contrary to popular belief, the number one quality necessary
for a leader of the future is not business skills and strategies.
It’s a comprehensive Self-Awareness.

While it might not be commonplace to hear that the first imperative of leadership is Self-Awareness, it’s true, nonetheless.

One of the biggest problems in today’s world is that few (very few) people specifically know who they are, or much less why they do what they do. While many attempts to fool themselves into believing they “think for themselves,” what they’re really doing is running a conditioned response from socialized mind.

Here’s the harsh bottom line: as we rapidly approach what
many predict to be the singularity, the only thing that
you can currently do better than an AI is self-aware.
How truly self-aware are you? Most have very little self-awareness.

Leaders know who they are, what their unique genius potential is, and what purpose they’re going to use that gift to serve in the world.

They also know just as clearly who they are not, what they should not be doing, and they know their weaknesses as well as their strengths.

While leaders have a big heart and big love (more on this in later installments), their number one love is for their specific mission and purpose. A love for what they’re here to accomplish and contribute to the world.

True leaders work and fight for a cause and calling not just a career.

This often may make them appear aloof, guarded, or to not be “a people person.”

While this might be true in some cases, the leader we speak of has a high degree of Emotional Intelligence (EQ).

True Leaders Have Emotional Strength

He has a highly developed intrapersonal intelligence (awareness of his own thoughts and feelings); and therefore, he realizes that if his interpersonal intelligence (awareness of, tolerance of, patience for, the thoughts and feelings of others) is lacking, he’s wise enough to recruit someone to his team who can handle these types of dealings with others more effectively than he can.

Multiple research shows that true self-awareness (a.k.a. emotional intelligence)
is far more predictive of financial and business success than IQ.
Why are we focusing on the wrong things in leadership?

Many experts believe that the singularity (the point at which AI’s become as intelligent as human beings), will be reached in 25 years or less.

While many science fiction movies may depict that AI’s can become self-aware, experts tend to agree that this is something that can’t be programmed.

I agree whole-heartedly.

A machine has no ability to feel either pain or pleasure.

It stands to reason that if very few humans have enough awareness of their own innermost thoughts and feelings, it’s a long stretch of the imagination to think that we can program a machine to do something we ourselves can’t even do.

Those who fantasize that an AI can become self-aware need to think again.
With so few humans having a high-degree of self-awareness,
how can we even begin to think we can program a machine to have it?
You can’t give what you don’t have.

Bottom line, if you hope to lead both your life, business, industry, field and craft in the future you absolutely must rethink your thinking.

You must step off the treadmill of money and materialism, Take Your Power Back and realize who and why you are.

This takes honesty. This takes courage. This takes the ability to think for yourself.

We dive deeply into these issues and others in our 3-day experience Leadership for the Future.

Attendees are extremely limited, to ensure we really work closely and deeply. I hope to see you there at one of the two opportunities is 2019. Go here for details.

In the meantime, ask yourself:

  1. Do I really know my unique gifts and potential genius?
  2. Am I utilizing my gift fully, or am I stuck chasing the dollar?
  3. Do I know what I’m here to uniquely contribute to the world?
  4. Am I working on my contribution daily?
  5. Do I know with absolute clarity what my life and business purpose are?

These questions will start the process.

There’s more—there’s always more.

Be a Leader. Live Your Purpose; and Take Your Power Back!

James