Today more and more people seeking answers to personal and leadership challenges recognize the great value of ancient wisdom traditions and their applications to personal and organizational challenges. Leadership development theorists have incorporated this knowledge into their models for decades. These include three fundamental truths critical to embrace as we find ways to thrive through the chaos of unpresented global change and challenges coming to our doorstep and affecting all of our lives.
These include:
- Leaders must serve as an anchor and lead in ways that demonstrate conviction, vision, and trust.
- To survive and thrive in the world of continual change and unprecedented crises, leaders must ensure practices of connection and transparency, as well as productivity, are sustained.
- Powerful leaders cultivate self-awareness and an inner sense of wholeness from integrating physical, mental, emotional and physical parts of themselves.
Wisdom Leader core practices integrate time-tested ways of ancient cultures and their wisdom traditions with contemporary approaches to address today’s leadership challenges and opportunities. Native Americans call this way of understanding The Medicine Wheel or The Blessing Way. Many African people call it the Circle of Life. Elements of these practices can be identified in the Walkabout of the Australian aborigines and as well as in the beliefs and practices of the Celts in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The current day Tuareg people of the Sahara Desert simply call it “The Path”. When combined together, these rich cultures offer us a timeless roadmap for leadership success and for the continual growth and evolution of the whole person and of the people they lead.
In her work, noted anthropologist, author and educator Angeles Arrien shared how indigenous wisdoms are relevant to our families, professional relationships and our relationship with the earth. In her seminal book The Four Fold Way, Arrien identifies four distinct archetypes represented in all wisdom traditions. These are the Warrior, Healer, Visionary and Teacher. Each archetype has its own unique focus, gifts and talents and all are present in each person. They must only be acknowledged, embraced and cultivated to restore and or strengthen a sense of balance and wholeness to the self. As leaders, we need these today, more than ever before, as we navigate the waters of uncertainty and a ride unprecedented rapid waves of change.
The following framework identifies each of the four archetypes identified by Angeles Arrien. Added are supporting behaviors (or leadership competencies). An individual Becoming a Wisdom Leader requires the practice and demonstration and balancing of all the archetypes.
Warrior – Core practice: Shows up and chooses to be present
Supporting Behaviors:
- Fully showing up and arriving prepared
- Skillfully communicating and listening deeply
- Taking a stand for one’s convictions
- Courageously taking risks and actions
- Extending honor and respect
- Setting appropriate limits and boundaries
- Aligning words with actions
- Extending responsibility to others in empowering ways
- Carefully considering the safety and welfare of the whole
Healer – Core Practice; Pays attention to what has heart and meaning
Supporting behaviors:
- Giving and receiving graciously and humbly
- Demonstrating acceptance and connection
- Extending genuine acknowledgment and recognition
- Expressing gratitude
- Being aware of important details, nuances and subtleties
- Sensing the dynamics of power and danger
- Staying in the present moment
- Understanding when and how energy in an environment ebbs and flows
- Sensing when or if agreements and/or decisions have vitality and commitment
Visionary – Core Practice; Tells the truth without blame or judgment
Supporting Behaviors:
- Magnetizing and opening up the creative spirit
- Seeing with farsighted vision
- Remembering and honoring the life dream or purpose
- Encouraging and demonstrating authenticity
- Naming and making visible dynamics of denial or indulgence
- Giving voice to what one sees internally and externally
- Demonstrating flexibility
- Having a capacity for joy, play and maintaining humor
- Being able to “look again” beyond fixed perspectives and blind spots
Teacher – Core Value; Is open to outcome, not attached to outcome
Supporting Behaviors:
- Maintaining trust and confidence in situations of surprise and uncertainty
- Remaining detached and objective
- Demonstrating resiliency
- Being comfortable with ambiguity
- Choosing “I don’t know” as an appropriate truthful response
- Using the gift of “silence” while waiting until the right answer arrives
- Seeing the value in multiple options
- Choosing right timing and pacing
- Learning from experience; both good and bad
- Sharing knowledge and experience with others
Questions to Contemplate:
- Which archetype most closely describes you?
- Which archetype least describes you?
- What archetype is most needed in your current circumstances?
- What can you do to do tomorrow to begin to strengthen, integrate and balance these Four Core Practices of the Wisdom Leader (consisting of each of the archetypes, core practices and supporting behaviors)?