Are you headed toward self-destruction?

The capacity for self-reflection and self-correction can keep us from the path of self-destruction.  ~Gayle Beebe

It's a privilege to quote a client.  Dr. Gayle Beebe was a client while he served as president of Spring Arbor University.  He has since moved to Westmont College and continues to serve in the role of president.  He authored a book entitled The Shaping of an Effective Leader: Eight Formative Principles of Leadership, which I highly recommend.  It wasn't until reading this book that I learned he studied under Peter Drucker and Richard Foster, two minds I greatly admire.  Following is an excerpt from The Shaping of an Effective Leader.

So often what distinguishes great leaders from also-rans is whether or not we can develop a capacity to self-correct.  Leaders get off track.  We overreact.  We walk into situations and do not respond as we should.  This in and of itself is usually not a problem.  It becomes a problem when we cannot recover from our mistakes. 

One of the great examples of how to develop the capacity for self-reflection and self-correction is taken from the famous scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet where Hamlet reenacts the murder of his father in order to "catch the conscience of the King."  What this passage so poignantly demonstrates is that the capacity for self-reflection and self-correction can keep us from the path of self-destruction.  Otherwise, left to our own devises, we will fall into patterns governed by self-interest that come to rules us. 

Often, our own moral awakening results from our confrontation with the fact that we are completely out of sync with our deeply held convictions… Once we recognize that we are out of sync and need to improve our performance, we can engage in the sort of development that inspires people to follow us.

Can I get an Amen?! 

In my experience, it feels like many leaders have replaced self-reflection with self-interest and certainty.  One of the basic (and critical) aspects of leadership (as Dr. Beebe learned from Dr. Drucker) is the ability to self-reflect and self-correct.  Yet, I meet leaders, frequently, who are adamantly opposed to, or even refuse, any kind of self-reflection.  Why?  I think it's because they believe that self-reflection is a sign of weakness or uncertainty, and opens them to vulnerability.  Well, yes, that's because vulnerability is the path to change and growth. 

One of my favorite chapter titles is from the book Deep Change by Robert Quinn.  Chapter 1 is entitled Walking Naked into the Land of Uncertainty.  Quinn says, "Most of us build our identity around our knowledge and competence in employing certain known techniques or abilities.  Making a deep change involves abandoning both and 'walking naked into the land of uncertainty.'  This is usually a terrifying choice…"

So we come to a fork in the road.  Become vulnerable and walk naked into the land of uncertainty through self-reflection and self-correction, or continue to walk blindly and risk self-destruction.