Personal Mastery

Personal Knowledge = Personal Mastery

How well does one know themselves? How will one lead? How are these questions related? In the topic of Personal Mastery the two questions are the yin and yang of leadership. Theory being a leader, who wants to be a good person, will inevitably be the good leader he wanted to be.

The recipe for Personal Mastery is, creating a personal vision of what one wants, maintaining a clear view of the challenges before oneself and the road ahead of one, allowing creative tension to bring both of these together. The end result is a beautiful recipe for both life and leadership.

In the assigned reading for this class the writer is of the opinion that Personal Mastery is never mastered. Just as human beings, societies, and organizations are ever changing so are the wants and views of the masterer. A leader without Personal Mastery does not have the tools to be a leader. Greenleaf says in his book while describing J.P. Morgan “He had power, great power… He had an idea, a concept of what an institution might become…, he knew strong people were required to build an institution… and he cared”(p.141). He was a personal master and a servant leader according to Greenleaf.

The writer having once been in a leadership role, sees how developing ones Personal Mastery, is learning the true content of ones character. Had the writer as an employer had a vision of who she wanted to be and where she wanted to end up and what road she would take, and had the writer not been afraid of the tension come with this knowledge, the writer would have been a better boss, and possibly a better person at that time. Heifetz says “But sometimes we bring ourselves down by forgetting to pay attention to ourselves. We get caught up in the cause and forget that exercising leadership is, at heart a personal activity.” (p.163). Both Heifetz and Greenleaf believe that a leader should always keep his eye on the ball. A leader must always be working on their Personal Mastery.

The writer came to a position of leadership at a young age, working for herself. The writer never had a personal vision, stating, this is the direction in which I want to be headed. If she had, her direction probably would not have had a servant leadership tone. Instead her Personal Mastery would have revealed her Selfishness. The young boss just wanted to be a boss, to be arrogantly the best, and get the most out of those who worked for her. Selfishness, ignorance and arrogance are what took place. No creative tension ever occurred. The writer only felt that responsibilities were owed solely to her; she never realized she had responsibilities to those she employed.

Personal Mastery does not stop with the knowledge of ones self. Personal Mastery also includes the knowledge of others. Theory being that if ones knows what motivates oneself, one can work on what motivates others. Discipline is another practice of Personal Mastery. Discipline integrates reason and intuition, makes us look at how we are connected to the world. The practice of discipline also allows leaders to build compassion for those around them. Discipline also builds ones commitment as a whole to their organization.

Organizational Responsibilities are also a segment of Personal Mastery. This includes fostering a climate where for Personal Mastery. Which includes a safe place for people to share and create a vision, this is also where commitment to truth is the norm and going against the grain of the status quo is expected.

The writer views that learning how to with parameters in ones organization as crucial. Developing a common ground and common parameters for the organization are important. Heifetz discusses working with others and incorporating the ideas of others towards a common organizational responsibilities and theories. Helping and being a mentor to others is positive. Helping those around one hone their hunger for success is something a true leader can do and not feel threatened by the dreams of those with whom they work. Heifetz also says “Recognizing and managing