The Inner Game of Leadership
Burning down inner scripts to lead with authenticity and meaningful impact.
by Greg Mutch | June 27, 2022
You won’t become the leader you were meant to be without burning some things down.
Things most likely to catch fire? Our inner scripts.
Here are a few of mine:
Be Likable.
Go along to get along.
Don’t ruffle feathers.
These don’t seem like dangerous or self-destructive axioms – so why on earth do they need to burn?
At first pass, these Inner Scripts seem harmless. We’ve all got them. We come by them honestly as part of our development in childhood and adolescence. As we seek to find meaning, safety, and belonging in this world, these inner scripts guide the way and help us navigate early life. They are a feature of our internal operating system. Until they become a bug.
My inner scripts served me well, and then they didn’t.
In my 30s, I hit a ceiling with my leadership influence and impact. Not just as a professional, but as a partner, a parent, a human. These inner scripts operated out of my awareness and held me back from my full potential. I was passive, indecisive, and often walking on egg shells to avoid conflict or challenges. I was a great team member, but a lackluster player in the game. In loyal service to these hidden messages I was not the leader I dreamed of being. Something needed to burn.
We all have an Inner game + Outer game.
At the core of AG Collaborative’s work is the belief that there is both an inner game and outer game of leadership. The outer game is all of the stuff we can see. Behaviors, outcomes, deliverables. How we communicate, show up, and interact with ideas and people. The inner game is made up of all the things within us that make us tick – values, mental models, strengths, stories, beliefs. This powerful inner game drives the outer game. Who we are is how we lead. And when we evolve and transform the inner game, the outer game expands in impact and effectiveness.
Most people will never light the match (willingly).
The sad reality is that most of us live enslaved and unconscious to these inner scripts, following them with blind loyalty. It doesn’t have to be this way. As participants learn through the Inside Leadership experience, there is liberation and abundance when we are willing to untangle from the mess of inner scripts running our lives. We can author new scripts that are rooted in our values and choose to live intentionally by them.
Updating our inner game creates incredible ripple effects in our outer game.
Through an intense time in my own life that involved getting fired, being part of a transformational leadership program, working with a coach and much more I was able to begin burning my inner scripts…and authoring new ones:
Be Authentic.
Wake People Up To Aliveness.
Make A Difference In The World.
With these updated scripts I got unstuck and was able to show up with more purpose, intentionality, and meaningful impact. I’ve felt more myself and more alive.
This is what it means to become the leaders we were meant to be.
This is what it means to become fully human.
Will you be one of the few that burns?
What scripts will you author to be your most authentic self as a leader?
Who you are is how you lead.
If you want a group to burn and author with, join us for Inside Leadership!
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