Is it Me, Myself or My Self that's in charge?

When you think back in your career, and think of the people in leadership positions you worked with: have you ever encountered those that seem to be saying one thing but doing another? Or, do you remember the manager who urged commitment and integrity in her employees but resigned at the first chance when things got tough? Or maybe you know the leader who played the power card with his team, but ducked like a beaten dog whenever his own boss was nearby? I have met them all at some point. And sometimes I wondered if it was me, having totally misjudged these people, or if it was them, displaying their multifaceted personalities.

As it turns out, there are thinkers out there who assume that humans can have multiple Selves.

What I need to know now is this: what does this idea mean for the concept of Authentic Leadership, a theory that is based on one, and only one ‘Self’?

You, Yourself and Your Self…

Paul Bloom introduces us to two different viewpoints when it comes to thinking about a person’s “Self”. The traditional view states that humans have a “Self”, a “you” that can make long-term plans, but one that has to fight off impulses, compulsions or addictions of any kind. In contrast to that, he writes, modern research suggests that each of us is a “community of competing selves... which are continually popping in and out of existence. They have different desires, and they fight for control – bargaining with, deceiving, and plotting against each other.” The examples he provides, are taken from our every-day lives: the one Self that wants to lose weight, fights the other Self that wants to eat too much cake. And so on.

Accepting this notion and thinking back at our previous bosses, it becomes crystal clear now why they behave with inconsistency. They (whichever of their Selves that might be) suffer from the Multiple-Self-Syndrome and are torn apart by the complexity of decisions, expectations and principles that rule any leader’s life. Yes, their planning long-term Self might want to be a role-model leader with the best interest of their team in mind, but the selfish short-term Self tells him otherwise. No reason, then, to feel accountable, is there?

No, this is not what Paul Bloom says. He knows that people need to be and remain ‘whole’ and rely on the fact that they are one and the same person today which they were yesterday. He does admit that it can feel ‘wrong’ to assume this theory, because “society and human relationships would be impossible without this form of continuity”, and we would “feel no long-term guilt, love, shame, or pride.”

And yet, he “gives up the idea that there is just one self per head.” - I am confused…

The quest for Authenticity in Leadership continues…

When studying the concept of Authentic Leadership, one is confronted with the assumption of an “authentic Self”. This Self – my Self and your Self, your Managers Self, your Leader’s Self - provides the basis for the choice of principles and values on which every day actions and decisions are based on. Keeping in mind that humans are social beings and leadership is a purely relational phenomenon, however, the view on authentic leadership should be that the (authentic) Self shapes, and is shaped, through exchanges with others.

But there is still only one Self… one Self that makes the decisions, one Self that does or doesn’t follow the rules, one Self that reminds me not to be biased too much, one Self that makes you want to be a Role Model for your associates, one Self that makes your manager want to support you in your role, and one Self that helps your leaders to make the morally sound decision. One Self that takes full responsibility and leads the way for others to follow. Or is there?

In my view, the complexity of human nature with all its colors and shades can be incorporated in the notion that there is only one Self. Our various addictions, competing values, inconsistencies and contrasting traits can become familiar to us by ways of becoming more self-aware. It frightens me to assume that we are all just a sum of many competing Selves, because nobody can really decide which Self makes the decisions. Can we ever find our Authentic Self amongst all these Selves?

And if our leaders don’t even know what their own Self is made up of, haven’t we lost all hope to find our own?

I look forward to your comments and suggestions regarding this topic.

References:
Bloom, P., 2008. First Person Plural. The Atlantic Online. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/multiple-personalities/.

Avolio, Bruce J. & Gardner, William L., 2005. Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315-338.