Leaders co-create their reality through the principle of self-organisation, Part 2
Like an archer sharpens his arrow and a carpenter sharpens his saw, a great leader sharpens her identity. Leaders develop their internal navigation system before they sail into the great seas of the world. This internal navigation shapes habit patterns, perspectives and worldviews. The way to do internal navigation is through reflection. The word reflection means to bend back or curve back or to refer back. Reflection is how we create a self-organizing universe. We have invented the mirror to look at ourselves. This invention comes from our psychological mirror that gives our reflective capacity.
Reflection is not just a mental exercise. It is the process of engagement of the whole body-mind identity in the creative process. We can watch this process as we see a potter make a clay pot. As the potter kneads the clay with his own hands he becomes part of the circular movement that is the essence of his craft. As he shapes the clay on his wheel he internalizes the roundness which is the quality of the pot. Thus by internalization and reflection he becomes a master of his craft.
Leaders co-create their reality not just by reflection but by asking the right questions. In the creative process, a question is a quest. Answers are dead ends. An answer is a blind alley through which no further movement of the mind is possible. When leaders live in questions they are able to navigate the complex problems of life and arrive at simple yet profound solutions. Complexities of life arise because our normal thinking process is not able to grasp our reality. So we need creativity in thinking. Creativity is a discontinuity in our thinking process. Creativity comes with sustained questioning of our old assumptions about reality.
[This is an excerpt from my book The Other 99%, published by Jaico Publishing House.]
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