The Inward Journey of Leadership and DNP Practice

Introduction: The Inward Journey of Leadership

For the majority of individuals, becoming a successful leader constitutes a lifelong endeavor, requiring tremendous amounts of commitment and work. Few reach their complete potential as leaders, though this is rarely on account of a lack of technical skills. Growing into a first-rate leader entails far more than management proficiency or improved strategic thinking. The process deals, most fundamentally, with personal transformation. Every great leader is on an ongoing internal journey of self-growth and self-discovery, with the intent to transform both their organization and themselves (Souba, 2006).

Famous German poet Rainer Rilke once remarked that only one true journey exists in life: to go inside oneself. However, an increasing proportion of individuals focus on the external — they are only concerned with standing out and looking good. Concurrently, many face an internal restlessness, an intensifying feeling that they are missing out on something significant, though they are uncertain of what it is. Plagued by the isolation of their careers from their personal values, many individuals feel compelled to compromise or detach their most deep-rooted values from their workplaces, despite such compartmentalization being contradictory to their fundamental principles (Souba, 2006).

Four Practices of the Inward Journey

Leadership's inward journey, though private and personal, is neither indecipherable nor unexplained. It entails focus, discipline, hard work, and integrity. One's ability to mature as a leader is grounded in one's ability to grow as an individual (Souba, 2006). One may embark on this journey by raising a number of important questions: Who am I? What do I stand for? Where does my leadership stem from? How can I become a better leader?

Four practices have been identified as particularly beneficial in making the internal journey rewarding and in enhancing organizational effectiveness (Souba, 2006):

1. Constructing one's life story
2. Knowing oneself
3. Confronting one's inauthenticity
4. Connecting with one's spirituality

Practicing these habits daily creates novel opportunities for transformation and personal growth. These closely associated practices continue throughout one's life. Engaging with them — since one can never wholly complete any of them — is crucial to effective leadership (Souba, 2006).

Constructing One's Life Story

Willis Harman, a futurist, states that there is no need as compelling as the need for one's life to have meaning — to make sense (Souba, 2006). Mankind is able to endure virtually any degree of risk or hardship in its unquenchable thirst for meaning (Harman, 1998). To make sense of our world, we all construct individual life stories and draw meaning from them (Souba, 2006). One's life story offers a conception of one's identity and the way one fits into the world — that is, one's self-concept — as well as the identity through which one may guide others (Shamir, Dayan-Horesh, & Adler, 2005).

Adopting a narrative outlook toward the analysis of leaders' life stories places less emphasis on what actually transpired — that is, on bare facts — and focuses more on the systems leaders employ to derive meaning from their life experiences. Understanding one's story, and how one, in the role of leader, can draw meaning from select experiences, may provide a foundation for leading. One key behavior of leaders is communicating their story to others (Souba, 2006).

A leader is a figure whose leadership identity forms a basic constituent of his or her self-concept (Gardner & Avolio, 1998). Bennis (1994) states that for leaders, the enactment and exercise of leadership lies at the core of self-expression. For instance, organizational leaders' tales of dedication to teamwork, open communication, respect, and other core values reflect their integrity to followers and, subsequently, help garner followers' trust. A compelling example is Nelson Mandela, who was prepared to serve a prison sentence for the principles he espoused. This willingness made clear that he was not merely a man of words, but of action — and through this, he expressed his authentic self. It goes without saying that those who do not comprehend that they occupy an important leadership role cannot effectively lead others (Souba, 2006).

An effective leader draws on lessons learned from coaches, mentors, and teachers, combining select learning experiences to serve a broader purpose. Using this portfolio of experiences, leaders can more clearly perceive their own identity, beliefs, desires, and goals (Souba, 2006).

References

Bennis, W. (1994). On becoming a leader. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.

Gardner, W., & Avolio, B. (1998). Charismatic leadership: The role of impression management. Academy of Management Review, 23, 32.

Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2005). Managing authenticity: The paradox of great leadership. Harvard Business Review, December 2005, 86–94.

Harman, W. (1998). Global mind change. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Mandela, N. (1994). Long walk to freedom. Little, Brown and Co.

Palus, C., Nasby, W., & Easton, R. (1991). Understanding executive performance: A life-story perspective. Center for Creative Leadership Report #148.

Shamir, B., Dayan-Horesh, H., & Adler, D. (2005). Leading by biography: Towards a life-story approach to the study of leadership. Leadership, 1, 13.

The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. (2006). American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Souba, W. W. (2006). The inward journey of leadership. Journal of Surgical Research, 131, 159–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2006.01.022