Stephen H Baum Leadership

In a prior post, I wrote about the “eminence grise,” the person you recognize immediately as having wisdom and gravitas. It is evident in the highly relevant, experience-based stories they tell, the penetrating questions, the ability to distill a complicated situation to the simplest core, their centeredness and calm under duress. They are broad-based thinkers, not just subject matter experts. They have a calming and salutary impact on everyone around them. When they speak, everyone listens. People treasure the time in their presence.

A LIVING DEMONSTRATION

The prior post spoke of how to recognize such a person and steps on the journey to become one. This post is a peek inside the Eminence Grise.

Jimmy Carter held a press conference earlier in August. He had only just been told that his cancer had spread to four areas of his brain. Whether or not you are a fan, he gave us a gift.

He told the attendees (as close to verbatim as I remember):

• I am at ease
• I am ready for the adventure
• I am happy with my life: living to age 91, the presidency and maybe more important, the Carter Center (and its humanitarian impacts)
• I do have goals still to be accomplished, but I am at ease

What more may we surmise is inside this most accomplished of former Presidents?

Carter was at that moment, by every observation, centered, calm and confident.

It was a rare glimpse inside the eminence grise. In my experience either observing them on stage or in conversation with the alone, these thoughts are contributors to that centeredness, calm, ease in moments on stage:

• I am who I am and need no one’s validation (not to be confused with my continual search for inputs from others or my ability to admit being mistaken)
• This is not about me. I will deflect making it about me. My ego is not at the table.
• Few moments are high stakes for me; all I have to do is show up and be myself; there is no reason to be nervous or defensive
• Listening, thinking, then speaking are at my pace, not others’. I may re-frame the question as well.

How long ago do we suppose President Carter reached this state of mind? I would speculate a long time ago. And I have seen leaders in their 40s to leaders in their 70s exhibit this state; and more than a few “senior” leaders as well as “newbies” easily triggered into non-constructive behaviors.

In a later post, I will return to steps along the journey and specific tactics for self-leadership.

There are some good books on various aspects of leadership maturity. Here are a few:

Leadership and the Art of Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute

New Earth and other titles by Eckhart Tolle

Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith

All available on Amazon Books

That’s just my view. What’s yours?