Leading From The Field

No, not the athletic field, nor the field of battle.  The field to which I refer is the one described by investigative journalist and author Lynn McTaggart in her book by the same name.  It is, in short, what physicists describe as web of energy that connects all matter in the universe.

Uhhhh, Ok!  So, how does one lead from there?  That was the question that I was exploring with 28 exquisite leaders on retreat last week in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  Prior to the retreat, these leaders read and discussed the book Presence, which pointed us in the right direction.  In that book, Peter Senge, et. al. developed a model for change leadership called the "U" curve, or "Theory U".  That model is depicted in the illustration that accompanies this post.

This is a very different kind of leadership.  It requires stillness and non-doing.  That's right--no action.  I can share that I really struggle with this.  For many, many years one of my mantras was: "when in doubt, do something" (and see what happens).  The new way of leading that I am exploring is more like: "when in doubt, do nothing".  This "non-doing" represents nearly two-thirds of the Theory-U model.  It requires significant periods of quiet time when we just observe, open our heart-minds, and sit with not knowing.  In Lynn McTaggart's terms, we might call this sensing what is needed from the energy of the field.

I want to be clear that there is action in this mode of leadership.  However, it is not the Energizer Bunny kind action that is so commonplace today.  It is action that comes in the form of powerful "experiments" or "rapid prototyping" from a place of clarity.  It is action that is informed by inspiration and enthusiasm.  It is action that is life affirming and "feels right".

As part of our leadership retreat, we spent 24 hours in complete silence--partly in nature.  In addition to that, I turned off all electronic devices for nearly a week and did almost no reading.  It felt like a cleanse.  I come back to the world with a renewed vigor and a commitment to lead in a different way.

How about you?  What is possible when you quiet your mind, sense the field, and then take rapid, powerful action from there?