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The first is that the actual steps to personal mastery are so straight
forward that it's tempting to think about them but not actually
take them. This is like expecting to flatten your stomach by reading
about sit-ups.
The second paradox is that maybe personal mastery can't be taught—at
least not like computer skills. It can only be modeled. As we conceive
it, what those practicing personal mastery do is, notice their mental
models and change them as needed—not easy. They dream in living
color about the results they want, which takes passion. Based on
good will and high purpose, they assign not knee-jerk reactions,
but the most constructive interpretation to the events of their
lives. And they respect and incorporate the useful ideas of others
- genuine curiosity and humility are the keys.
It probably is not possible for someone to engage in these activities
without impacting events around them, and without creating powerful
and effective relationships with others. But any words someone pursuing
personal mastery could speak about these things would necessarily
be pale next to the things themselves. The story of Pinnochio comes
to mind, in which it was the master's love, and the behavior of
love, that brought the puppet to life. Could it be that way with
personal mastery, too? In other words, only to the extent we are
willing to step into these notions and give them the form of life
do they hold potential to shape our own destinies and those of the
organizations we form.
To the typical CEO, to the typical manager, inside your typical
organization, we suspect all this is a matter of considerable importance
today. So many companies now are trying to change themselves from
the outside-in, by re-engineering new organizational forms into
existence in the hope that structure alone equals performance. We
doubt that it does, believing instead that the catalyst missing
from such efforts is the inside-out change offered by personal mastery.
We doubt that the best team players can be made by teaching the
external strategies of teamwork alone. To be constructive members
of a team, people must examine their attitudes about collaborating
with others, resolving conflict, coping with mistakes (their own
and others'), dealing with anger and fear, etc. That comes from
the never-ending pursuit of personal mastery.
We have one final speculation to offer about the promise of personal
mastery in the workplace. When the leaders of an organization sincerely
embrace personal mastery themselves, they will automatically begin
shifting the parent/child relationship between management and workforce
to adult/adult relationships. While the former is still the dominant
organizational paradigm, it's the latter that holds the power to
drive truly empowered workers and an organization that really is
capable of continuous learning and fluid response to a dynamic marketplace.
Think about it.
Profit From Experience: A guide to knowing yourself and influencing others, published by O'Brien Group, 2003.
Copyright 2003 O'Brien Group
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