From Outside In to Inside Out Leadership
“If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place.” — Eckhart Tolle
So much of our leadership training is about the mechanics of leadership. Models and frameworks and processes and 5 steps to effective teams. We all want a “quick fix”. And it’s true, there are some really important mechanics to follow to be an effective leader.
Simply focusing on the ‘outside’ will only get you so far. You can follow the mechanics perfectly, exactly as intended by the person who created them. The trouble is, the person who created them didn’t take into account all of the complexity that you encounter when you are supposed to be “using the process” or “following the steps” or “reading the script”.
Think about it from the perspective of an actor or actress. Someone writes a script and describes the feelings that are supposed to be portrayed, describes the set where the scene is supposed to be carried out, and even describes their intent. And then the actor or actress gets ahold of it. If that person is good, they are looking at this script and then becoming — from the inside — a character on the set, and then portraying that to others on the outside.
Without the inside work, they are just a flat executor of the writer’s mechanical definition of what they are supposed to do.
When making a shift in perspective from outside in, to inside out, you’ll find a whole new way of seeing the world. It may even turn your perspective upside down!
The work to look inside involves slowing down enough to become aware of your own personal narratives and recognizing how they motivate you and drive your behavior. Then, you can also notice the impact those personal narratives and your behaviors can have on those around you. Once you start seeing that internal narrative for what it truly is, you can start noticing where it shows up and be intentional about ‘doing it differently’.
Trust me, doing it differently is uncomfortable. You’ve probably done things that you’re uncomfortable with many times. Looking inside to see what is motivating you to behave a certain way may help you see where you want to consciously change your thinking. This will allow you to behave differently on the outside than how you’ve always done it. And you can do it intentionally. Because you are aware of it!
That alone is the beginning of the shift from outside in to inside out leadership.
