The Executive and the Elephant: A Leader's Guide for Building Inner Excellence PDF
Preview The Executive and the Elephant: A Leader's Guide for Building Inner Excellence
THE EXECUTIVE AND THE ELEPHANT a leader’s guide for building inner excellence • Richard L. Daft Copyright©2010byJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.Allrightsreserved. PublishedbyJossey-Bass AWileyImprint 989MarketStreet,SanFrancisco,CA94103-1741—www.josseybass.com Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,scanning, orotherwise,exceptaspermittedunderSection107or108ofthe1976UnitedStates CopyrightAct,withouteitherthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher,or authorizationthroughpaymentoftheappropriateper-copyfeetotheCopyright ClearanceCenter,Inc.,222RosewoodDrive,Danvers,MA01923,978-750-8400,fax 978-646-8600,orontheWebatwww.copyright.com.Requeststothepublisherfor permissionshouldbeaddressedtothePermissionsDepartment,JohnWiley&Sons,Inc., 111RiverStreet,Hoboken,NJ07030,201-748-6011,fax201-748-6008,oronlineat http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. LimitofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty:Whilethepublisherandauthorhaveusedtheir besteffortsinpreparingthisbook,theymakenorepresentationsorwarrantieswith respecttotheaccuracyorcompletenessofthecontentsofthisbookandspecifically disclaimanyimpliedwarrantiesofmerchantabilityorfitnessforaparticularpurpose.No warrantymaybecreatedorextendedbysalesrepresentativesorwrittensalesmaterials. Theadviceandstrategiescontainedhereinmaynotbesuitableforyoursituation.You shouldconsultwithaprofessionalwhereappropriate.Neitherthepublishernorauthor shallbeliableforanylossofprofitoranyothercommercialdamages,includingbutnot limitedtospecial,incidental,consequential,orotherdamages. ReadersshouldbeawarethatInternetWebsitesofferedascitationsand/orsourcesfor furtherinformationmayhavechangedordisappearedbetweenthetimethiswaswritten andwhenitisread. Jossey-Bassbooksandproductsareavailablethroughmostbookstores.Tocontact Jossey-BassdirectlycallourCustomerCareDepartmentwithintheU.S.at800-956-7739, outsidetheU.S.at317-572-3986,orfax317-572-4002. Jossey-Bassalsopublishesitsbooksinavarietyofelectronicformats.Somecontentthat appearsinprintmaynotbeavailableinelectronicbooks. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Daft,RichardL. Theexecutiveandtheelephant:aleader’guideforbuildinginnerexcellence/ RichardL.Daft. p.cm. Includesindex. ISBN978-0-470-37226-5(hardback);978-0-470-63661-9(ebk); 978-0-470-63667-1(ebk);978-0-470-63668-8(ebk); 1.Leadership.I.Title. BF637.L4D342010 658.4’092—dc22 2010013839 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica firstedition HBPrinting 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents • Preface vii Acknowledgments ix PARTONE TheTwoSelves 1. TheProblemofManagingYourself 3 TheConflictBetweenKnowingandDoing TheUniversalFailureofWillpower TheDividedSelf:ExecutiveandElephant LearningtoLeadfromYourInnerExecutive PurposeofThisBook 2. RecognizeYourTwoSelves 15 LevelsofConsciousness TwoVoicesWithin WhyYourMindIsFilledwithAutomaticThoughts UnfocusedElephantMindVersusFocusedExecutivePresence SmallBoxVersusLargeMind PARTTWO WaysYouMayMisleadorDeludeYourself 3. ThreeTendenciesThatDistortYourReality 37 YourInternalJudge YourInternalMagician YourInternalAttorney iii iv contents 4. EveryLeader’sSixMentalMistakes 52 ReactingTooQuickly InflexibleThinking WantingControl EmotionalAvoidanceandAttraction ExaggeratingtheFuture ChasingtheWrongGratifications PARTTHREE HowtoStartLeadingYourself 5. EngageYourIntention 71 VisualizeYourIntention VerbalizeYourIntention 6. FollowThroughonYourIntentions 90 WriteDownYourIntentions SetDeadlines DesignTangibleMechanisms 7. CalmDowntoSpeedUp 107 GetConnected LetItHappen SitbyYourProblem RelaxYourBody CalmYourElephantbyActingthePartorMaking aGentleRequest 8. SlowDowntoStopYourReactions 125 StopandThink StopInterrupting DetachfromYourEmotionsandImpulses JustSayNo EmployPunishment PARTFOUR BecomeAwareofYourInnerResources 9. GettoKnowYourInnerElephant 147 KnowYourself contents v SolicitFeedback TakeAdvantageofaSetback 10. ExpandYourAwareness 162 ReviewtheDay ContemplateCreatively PARTFIVE ReachfortheHeights 11. SharpenYourConcentration 177 FocusYourAttention FocusonMeans,NotEnds SlowDown,Look,andListen FocusonPeople 12. DevelopYourWitness 192 TurnInwardtoDevelopYourWitness UseRadicalSelf-Inquiry WhoAmI? 13. ReprogramYourself 209 RepeataMantra PrayerMayHelp,butNottheWayYouThink 14. MendYourMindwithMeditation 223 WhyMeditate? AnEasyWaytoStart TwoEssentials MindfulnessMeditation TryVisualRatherThanVerbal ContemplativeMeditation PARTSIX CanYouLeadfromaPeopleFrameofReference? 15. ChangeYourFrametoSeePeople 243 WhatIsYourFrame? FromLeadingObjectstoLeadingHumans HowtoChangeYourFrame vi contents 16. ChangeYourFrametoAskQuestions 261 FromAnsweringQuestionstoAskingQuestions InAllThings,Consult 17. LivingandLeadingfromYourInnerExecutive 275 HigherConsciousnessRevisited WhenHerMindWentQuiet AnswerstoIndividualQuestions FinalThoughts Notes 294 AbouttheAuthor 311 ExerciseIndex 313 Index 317 Preface • althoughididn’tknowitatthetime,thisbookoninnerexcellence beganonmyfirsttriptoIndia.Ifeltacallingtolearnaboutspirituality, and where better to start than India? Sitting on an ashram, reading and studying deep ideas, and trying to meditate were jolting changes in paradigm for me, as were the hot days and cold showers. At times my head almost hurt as I tried to integrate what I was learning in the East with concepts from the West; the spiritual and academic were not blendingeasily.GurusfromEasterntraditionsdidresearchintothemind by focusing on the mental dynamics within their inner world; Western socialsciencefocusedonunderstandingotherpeopleintheouterworld. Bothlinesofinquiryweresincerelysearchingforthetruth,butinopposite directions. It took me a while, and multiple trips to India, to assimilate lessons derived from within into the lessons from the outer world with whichIwasmorefamiliar. As I absorbed a new way of thinking, a key discovery for me was the EasternconceptofusingBuddhior‘‘intellect’’asamentalmechanismto guide one’s life, rather than living a life helplessly surrendered to one’s senses,desires,andself-interest.AsIbegantocomprehendthissomewhat separate and higher way of thinking, I startedseeing similar concepts in the West. The notion that people have two selves or two thinking pro- cessesnowseemedtoappearallaroundme,alongwiththenaggingprob- lem of how to regulate or manage one’s emotions, impulses, and fears. Manypeoplewereaskingquestionsabouthowtofocustheirrestlessmind andenergy,howtoavoiddistractions,andhowtomanagethemselvesto leadorlivemoreeffectively.Isawagreatdealofinterestandinquiryfrom bothpsychologyandneuroscienceinself-regulationandintheextentto which people had so-called free will or were governed by unconscious desires and thought processes. In psychology, the higher part is charac- terizedbyconsciousormetacognitivethoughtprocessesthataredistinct from the nonconscious or simple cognitive processes. In neuroscience, vii viii preface the higher part is called the executive function in the brain’s prefrontal cortex,andthelowerpartincludestherestofthenervoussystem. In some sense, the two parts of the mind are not very complicated. One part is quick and impulsive, and at times its restless urges are too strong to control. This part wants immediate gratification; it has a short attention span and a childlike stubbornness in defending its own positions. The other part is slower and wiser, humble, determined; it doesn’t overreact to things, and keeps the larger purpose in mind. I had myownissuesfinding moreoftheslowandsteadywithinmetoreplace the reactive and restless. I researched and experimented with many techniques fromEastandWestthat would developthe partofmymind thatcouldmanagemyownbehavior. Thisbookisaboutthehow,notthewhat,ofimprovingyourleadership. Changing one’s personal habits or leadership style is not easy. Where do you go for help? There are hundreds of books on leadership that tell people what they should do as leaders. These books offer excellent advice, such as the five leadership principles, seven habits, ten timeless principles, fifteen secrets, and twenty-one irrefutable laws, all of which havevalueforreaders.Incontrast,mypurposeinthisbookisnottogive you another listof whatmakes agood leaderbut to provide the howof changingandimprovingyourselfintotheleaderyouwanttobeandcan be.Thisbookoffersspecificexercisesandpracticesthatshowyouhowto startmanagingyourselftobecomemoreeffectiveasapersonandaleader. WhenIstartedusingtheseideastoteachMBAstudentsandmanagers how to strengthen their intellect, they reported back some progress in changing themselves. One problem was that people had a hard time identifyingwiththeirownconsciousandunconsciousminds.Thingstook off after I adopted simple names for the two parts. Participants in my classes and programs then really seemed to get it. The names that stuck wereinnerexecutiveforthehigherpart(intellect)andinnerelephantfor the lower. Students started using the terms to describe themselves and theirbehavior.Afewexecutivestookthetermsbacktotheirworkplaces asapointofreferencetohelppeopleunderstandandtranscendtheirless functionalbehavior.Thesenotionshadpracticalvalue,sotheremaining challengeformewastowriteuptheideasandpracticesinbookform. ThefinaltallyisthatIamnowlivingwithinadifferentparadigmand have experienced modest success teaching these ideas and practices to others.Pursuinginner excellencehas certainlychangedme.Ihope some aspects of this paradigm of two parts within your mind will help you developthehigherpartofyouonyourjourneytobecomingabetterleader, spouse,parent,friend,colleague,oremployee,alongwithgreaterfocuson andsatisfactioninwhateverendeavorsinwhichyouengage.Yourinner excellenceiswaitingforyoutoclaimit.Whynotgetstartednow?
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