The Cameron Method - Newsletter Archive
1 January, 2001 - Leadership & Castles
Inner Mind Update is the online newsletter published by Sharon & Clark Cameron to encourage and support your benefiting from the Releasing Strategy, which is part of The Cameron Method Mind Change System. We focus on key developments and challenges of the mind, current affairs and life itself.
The Cameron Method is available through personal counseling (phone and in person), CompuMind software, cassette tapes, the book Designing Your Heart's Desire: The Releasing Strategy and corporate workshops. For more information, see http://www.CompuMind.com and http://www.CompuMind.com/corporate/ for workshops and other corporate applications.
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Leadership & Castles
Helping the family set up a complex castle that was a child's Christmas present, we experienced again what fun it is to put something very physical together and see it grow to completion. The parts for this amazing project are assembled with little plastic linking pieces that are put into the larger parts with a little tool that is included. (Stay with me here.) It actually is very satisfying to snap each section and piece together
After it is assembled, the child has a large dollhouse castle that includes such details as a chandelier and blooming potted plants (also assembled). The project is like putting a three-dimensional puzzle together, but it will be used as a sturdy setting for play.
During hectic times, this kind of activity is especially enjoyable. You can't hurry it too much. You must keep your eye on the larger vision being built, as well as your place in the whole.
You have to be polite as other people are looking at the plans to find information on what they are working on. You must share your space, and not be too demanding as you work on your part.
Finally, you must remember to allow the children to get in on some of the fun too. After all, it is their present!
The project and our fun with it came to mind again when I heard an interview of Steven Covey, the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, on public radio the day after Christmas. He described some qualities that are needed in a good leader:
Character and competence. You should know what you are doing to be trusted to lead. People can count on you. (One of my daughters was the construction supervisor of our project. She is known for high natural talent and reliability in this area.)
Sense of Vision: You should be able to hold the larger picture and not get distracted by details or conflicting agendas. All of the adults participating in the project had this ability. It is part of what attracts someone to work on this sort of thing.
Inspirational: Inspiring others to serve that vision. If you are a good leader you will be empathetic to the point of bringing others to understand that you can see things the way they do. When they realize that, they can support your vision even when they have disagreed with it. (With the castle, we only learned after working on it awhile that there were two different versions we could be building from the plans. We agreed on the one we had half built.)
Teachable: Be a humble and teachable authority. This empowers other people on the team. It's also hard for others to want to attack you when they know you count on them for, and honor, their contribution. (All participants had this on the castle team too. It was built in record time!) So there we were, adults playing and automatically falling into the most effective roles to get the job done. It was a team of leaders.
Can we use the strategy taught in the book Designing Your Heart's Desire: The Releasing Strategy by Sharon Cameron to help open us up to use these leadership qualities? Let's try some here. Repeat these statements aloud just until you can say them easily.
- I release my belief, perception and judgment that I can't be competent and dependable.
- I release all fear that I will stumble if others depend on me.
- I release all fear of being responsible.
- I release all need or desire to be distracted from the vision I need to keep.
- I release all unwillingness to hold the vision for other people.
- I release my belief, perception and judgment that I can't seriously listen to other people's ideas to fit into my vision.
- I release all unwillingness to keep my vision while I listen to others.
- I release my belief, perception and judgment that I can't learn from my team.
- I release my belief, perception and judgment that I am in competition with my team when I am leading them.
- I release all unwillingness to be fair when leading others.
- I release all resistance to leading others.
- I release my belief perception and judgment that my leadership style can't improve.
- I release all resistance to honoring the people I lead.
Remember to enjoy today!
Sharon and Clark Cameron
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