A manifestation is when the unseen becomes seen, it is realized (i.e., actuality has become your reality). The Centered Leader has realized increased awareness, connection, empowerment, and performance. For example, awareness is manifested when your personality is aligned (i.e., your temperament, character, habits, and attitude). Connection is manifested when your behavior is aligned (i.e., your assumptions, beliefs, values, and perceptions). Empowerment is manifested when your vision is aligned (i.e., your principles, passion, purpose, and mission). Performance is manifested when your growth is aligned (i.e., your planning, discipline, choices, and self-esteem). Because manifestations are observable it means they are evidence of behavioral shaping, and that means you can learn to be a Centered Leader. There are four dimensions to Centered Leadership.
The Four Dimensions of Centered Leadership
In the first dimension, awareness, you need to learn what is happening around you and what is happening to you. Your awareness can be developed in several ways including meditation, friends, feedback, journaling, emotional triggers, or just letting it emerge as you experience different situations in your life. There’s another way that’s more effective, insightful, and sustainable and that’s by becoming aware of what is meaningful to you, and why it’s meaningful to you. Have you ever realized that certain things interest you and other things do not? Have you ever wondered why certain things interest you? Everything about you is based on your personality functioning, and this is what drives your interests. Personality includes four delving levels that lead to your centeredness. You need to understand and utilize the strengths and weaknesses of your temperament—this is not the same as strengths or weaknesses based on your KAASE (i.e., knowledge, abilities, attitudes, skills ,and experiences). The utilization of temperament strengths and weaknesses provides an opportunity for building strength on strength development of your character (learned behavior) shaping habits that are aligned with your temperament strengths, and practicing having an accurate attitude with how you think about yourself, people, and the circumstances you encounter in your life.
The second dimension of centeredness is how you connect to people and opportunities, and this ability is based on your behavior which has four delving levels that lead to your centeredness. Starting with a broader understanding of your assumptions, which are based on your beliefs and your belief system. Underpinning your beliefs are your values and what you hold dear to your self-concept of who you are as a person, and your overall well-being. Your values are formed in your perceptions and how your thinking shapes your perceptions which drives into the center of your being.
In the third dimension, we shift from how you influence yourself through awareness and connection, to how you influence others (in addition to yourself) through empowerment and performance. How you empower yourself and others has four delving levels that drive your centeredness. Starting with a broader understanding of your principles, and how you guard and guide yourself and others, matters. Understanding your passion and the passions of others empowers you and people toward your vision. You will need people who have a shared passion for the potential possible destination, agree on the purpose for why you’re trying to achieve your vision, and complete detailed missions that are significant to the success of your vision. This centers you on your ability to influence. The fourth dimension is about how you perform as a leader with your leadership, but also how you get your people to perform at their full functioning level. Your ability to grow yourself and grow your people requires healthy and positive influence. A leader can only bring people to a place where they have grown themselves, but they can reinforce people to be their full functioning selves. Your growth as a leader and that of your people are based on four delving levels that drive towards your centeredness which include planning the details of your people’s performance and growth. Your level of planning needs to include the development of each individual’s discipline. Discipline of your choices, and how your people make choices, matters. Further understanding of your choices and the choices of others is based on one’s self-esteem, which brings us full circle and back to the awareness of your personality. Let’s look at the dynamic of authority verses influence.