Hypnosis as a path to
authenticity and natural leadership
One rarely-mentioned positive aspect of hypnosis is
the shedding of affectations and acquired personality identities, beliefs and
structures. In the hypnotic trance you are taken to a level below, or before
(in regression), the development of personality structures. An early milestone
at this level is the actual experience that much of who you think you are is
just a collection of beliefs. They can and are surrendered according to your
ability, in trance, to experience being your true self. The extent to which
this occurs varies from trance to trance and generally increases with trance
frequency and depth. A single very deep trance can result in a jump to full
enlightenment. However, it is more usual for people to incrementally shed
unwanted personality structures and become more and more authentic over time. The
hypnotic trance, by itself, can thus be life-transforming, even if no
particular program work is performed during the trance. People who have
experience a deep hypnotic trance have touched and experience their natural
authenticity and can never be the same again. This may result in shedding
relationships, jobs and other aspects of life that are now seen to be not
serving the true self. This is the path to happiness.
Another side benefit of this process is the evolution
of natural leadership abilities. It is as though, become more true to yourself
is perceived by others as authentic and therefore safe. Simply put, the more
authentic you are, the more you can and will be be trusted by others. Several
leadership models (specifically 'Servant leadership' and 'Transformational
leadership') refer the need to engage closely with other people if individuals
are to be influenced (Greenleaf, 2002; Elliot, 2002). 'Collaborative'
leadership (Kouzes and Posner, 1995) harnesses individuals’ interests in
service of the organisational objectives by creating a supportive environment
and encouraging participative decision-making. In contrast to these models, which
are based on harnessing the personal interests of the group member, other
leadership models are based more explicitly on achieving the interests of the
leader and the organisation. For example, Positional leadership based on the
traditional industrial model of leadership utilises the positional power of the
leader to achieve, principally, organisational objectives. One of the
interesting effects of hypnosis, is the surrender of artifical control needs in
leadership behaviour and the move towards genuine personal connection and
interpersonal appreciation as the leadership mechanism.
Of the above leadership models, only in the
transformational model does the leader make explicit use of self as the means
of engaging with the group participants. In transformational leadership the leader
presents their own personal commitment to their goals as the model for group
participants to follow. In other words, they are being authentic. ‘I’
statements, whether spoken or embodied, are key to transformational leadership.
For example, Martin Luther King Jnr’s “I have a dream …” and Ghandi’s personal
involvement with villagers in
Self-disclosure is a key indicator of authenticity and
an element in non-conflictual communication (Davidson and Wood, 2004) and in conflict
resolution (Cornelius and Faire, 1989. p. 60).
Self-disclosure statements achieve several outcomes which
are useful in building influence and therefore leadership. The first is that an
‘I’ statement is declaration of vulnerability that acts as a tension reliever
to reduce other’s likely expectations (of leader infallibility, etc.). It also
reduce performance anxiety by the leader. Secondly, authentic self disclosure
allows group members to identify the leader as being similar to themselves and
this opens the way for acceptance by group members of subsequent statements
(the ‘pacing and leading’ in neuro-linguistic programming). Thirdly,
self-disclosure provides a model self-awareness as a communication style and
thereby facilitates conflicts to be voiced and resolved. Fourthly, self-disclosure
provides material with which the group members may identify. This process of
Identification has long been used as a key method for therapeutic
transformation in the field of Ericksonian hypnosis. Through metaphor and
relating stories of other clients, the hypnotised subject remains at a distance
from direct confrontation with their own feelings and is able in a safe and measured
way to exercise choice as to what relates to self and therefore identify and
assimilate. This process bypasses resistance and empowers the subject.
These four potential outcomes of use of self are employed
variously by Gestalt practitioners and hypnotherapists. In the world outside of
therapy these techniques are used by transformational leaders, in both large
and small ways, to achieve influence. Hypnosis
is the fastest and most effective path to authentic leadership.
References
Beer, M. (1990).
‘Process interventions’, Organisation Change and Development: A Systems View,
Goodyear Publishing Co.,
Cornelius, H. and
Faire, S. (1989). Everyone Can Win. How to Resolve Conflict.
Davidson, J. and
Wood, C. (2004). “A Conflict Resolution Model”, Theory into Practice, Volume
43, Number 1, Winter 2004.
Elliot, R. (2002).
The spirit of Australian Leadership. In C. Barker & R. Coy (Eds.) The Heart
and Soul of Leadership, (pp. 123 – 155).
Greenleaf Centre
for Servant-Leadership (2002). What is Servant Leadership. Retrieved August 7,
2005 from the Greenleaf Website: http://www.greenleaf.org/leadership/servant-leadership/What-is-Servant-Leadership.html
Hawkins, D.
(1995). Power Versus Force: the Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour.
Johnson, D. W.
& Johnson, F. P. (2003). Joining together: Group theory and group skills.
(6th Ed. Ch. 5: Ladership).
Kouzes, J. and
Posner, B. 1995). The Leadership Challenge.