Knowledge and Wisdom: A Practitioner's Path to Flight

Written By: Shannon Shultz

"Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad.
~ Unknown While The Leadership Circle framework can be a powerful foundation for transformation, knowing its ins-and-outsand being able to bring it to life with clientsis as dierent as knowledge and wisdom. This article will highlight three distinct and subtle shifts that increase the impact with the leaders and teams I serve.

Move from talking about it to "being about it."

This rst subtle shift reminds me of how my personal trainer invites me to stop reporting my progress and actually start lifting weights. Getting to know the Leadership Circle framework starts with a gradual deepening and eventual up leveling of each person's personal relationship to Reactive Tendencies.

Shannon Shultz
Founder - Shultz Consulting Group

Move from talking about it to "being about it."

First, tracking the movement. Get to know how each of the tendencies moves through you, so you know them. This means getting to know your own physical response, and then identifying the avor of fear that is driving it.

Move from talking about it to "being about it."

Second, be amused. With time, this amusement will morph into full- edged admiration. Personally, I began chuckling about my most quirky qualities and considering those formally forbidden aspects that had been kept under lock and key, and smiling about the character I had become (as if it were new).

Move from talking about it to "being about it."

Third, build a circle. The largest leaps of personal and professional growth have come through these relationships and I believe our ability to impact global leadership in a profound way depends on us cultivating these relationship circles for ourselves.

Move from guring it out to inviting it out.

Eective development work has required a major shift from guring it out to inviting it out, especially in the realm of exploring beliefs and assumptions. The reasons this shift is challenging are not surprising: 1) Being the expert is seductive. My desire to help others get out of their own way or to see the light through insights that have made themselves clear to me, is often present. 2) Being the expert is often preferred and expected by clients. It is not uncommon for clients to want to be told how to think and what to do. 3) Being the expert appeals to one's sense of eciency. We have a bias for action, and a natural urge to just tell someone instead of fostering discovery about it.

Move from guring it out to inviting it out.

The most eective strategy to move from " guring it out" to "inviting it out" is getting clear about roles. The coach's role is to join the client as a fellow traveler in the exploration of what this means for her, be present and listen deeply, and build the habit of exploring with--not for--the client.

Move from owning the results to sharing the experience.

A coach's ability to do this constellates around trust in a creative intelligence greater than the problems, challenges, and complications they are working. Believe that the client is naturally intelligent, creative, resourceful, and whole. Whenever you nd yourself unconsciously doubting a clients resourcefulness, recalibrate, as it probably means you are taking on more than your share of the responsibility.

By making these three subtle shifts (1 - Move from talking about it to being about it, 2 - move from guring it out to inviting it out, and 3 - move from owning the results to sharing the experience), a practitioner or coach of The Leadership Circle pro le can be more eective in helping their clients achieve the lasting change they're after.

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