The Leader as Healer

                                         “Whatever house I enter, I shall come to heal.” 

                                                               --Hippocrates

             A great leader is many things—a strategist, visionary and builder, a teacher, preacher and coach, a nurturer, communicator, comic and storyteller.  Not least among his/her many talents, but often least attended, is that of healer. 

            The healer’s gifts are critical to building any organization for the simple reason that each of us is wounded in some way…and we bring that woundedness with us wherever we go.  That includes our workplace.  These dynamics show up in the politics of ego, turf battles, favoritism, abuse (subtle and not so), under-developed talents and the withholding of truths that could lift the organization to a higher level of performance.
            So how does the leader heal?  In the most basic sense, by adopting Hippocrates’ mantra quoted above.  He or she conceives of each individual and situation as a house to enter, a house where some healing is necessary and possible.  The first action of the healer is to bring his/her heart and mind fully to bear…in other words, he/she pays complete attention to those before him or her in a spirit of inquiry that asks quite consciously…

§  Who is this person at her core? 

§  What is she here to do in this life?

§  How is he doing, right now, this moment in time? 

§  What does his body language say to me? 

§  What does his voice communicate that the words are not expressing? 

§  What conditions make it more likely she’ll do her best work, day after day?

§  What needs and dreams can I help him with?

§  What can I share of myself that will encourage and illuminate his path?

§  What is beyond my responsibility and control?

             By showing up as a student in the classroom of each individual, we naturally show up as a healer in his/her house... because to heal, first, is to know the current condition and then to apply the kind of balm that will contribute to the knitting of the wound.  What balm? 

§  The balm of listening and really hearing.

§  The balm of caring.

§  The balm of appreciation.

§  The balm of light-hearted humor.

§  The balm of storytelling.

§  The balm of compassionate truth-giving.

§  The balm of welcoming the person into your own world.

§  The balm of patience and benefit-of-the-doubt.

§  The balm of reciprocal trust, which requires prudent risk-taking.

§  The balm of appropriate boundaries…knowing when to step forward, when to step back, when to stand still.

             I am constantly asked, “How can I motivate my people better?”  My first response is a question: “How well do you really know them?”  Most of the time, frankly, the answer is, “Not all that well.”  Some of my clients call me “the lunch king” because I’m always suggesting the leader take people to lunch and have a free-flowing chat that puts them at ease so they are more likely to reveal their true selves.  Important insights and ideas have emerged from such lunches, and deeper bonds that facilitate the flow of work.  Trust is the ultimate lubricant of a healthy workplace…and trust is built on knowing others at depth and allowing them to know us at depth. 

            A common objection is, “If I get too close to my people, I won’t be able to discipline them.”  I invite you to see this as limited thinking.  Gaze over its horizon.  We are less likely to have to discipline people when we really “get” them and they “get” us.  But when it is necessary, and is delivered with compassionate directness and clarity, it is more likely to be efficient and effective because of the deeper bond.  Those who fear being “too close” to their people are closing off the possibility of elevating to the highest plane of leadership.  Often, these folks need to do some preliminary inner work of their own on boundary setting.  Once they have developed sufficient clarity and assertiveness in this realm, appropriate intimacy in workplace relationships flourishes.
            Besides, the question, “How do I motivate my people?” is not the most useful way to look at a workplace community.  A better inquiry might be phrased, “How do I create the optimal conditions for people to do their best work day in and day out?”  The answer is right here in front of us—by getting close, by building authentic relationships with a deep sense of reverence for the magic and uniqueness of each individual, by helping them in their life journey towards wholeness, by being a student in her classroom…and a healer in his house.
            Now, there is one more thing that bears stating…which is that in order for us to effectively attend to others, we must first attend to ourselves.  For leaders, moment to moment consciousness of our own inner states and their history is not optional…it comes with the job.  We need to be able to get out of our own ways.  We need to know when an issue is largely our own personal dynamic, to be handled away from the workplace, and when it is truly a workplace issue.  We need clarity about our own gifts, wounds, drivers and limitations. The more attuned we are to ourselves, the more accurately we’ll be able to read and lead others.  The ultimate expression of such leadership is a web of collaborative workplace relationships that yield consistent high service to the greater good.  So, being on a developmental path and doing the inner work is a critical activity that distinguishes the many good leaders from the few who are great.  Hippocrates once again gave us appropriate guidance, when he said:  “…heal thyself.”
C 2011 Bob Kamm