A Failure of Nerve -- Chapter 5
Autocracy Vs. Integrity:  The Fallacies of Self

Three characteristics of all existing life:

• Reproduction
• Metabolism
• Heritability

Another "equator" or emotional barrier that has to be crossed before leadership in America can be free to venture in "harm's way" is the association of self with autocracy and narcissism rather than with integrity and individuality.

Barriers to Understanding Leadership

the illusion underlying this emotional barrier to well-differentiated leadership is the facile "peace of progress" assumption.

The twin problems confronting leadership in our society today is the failure of nerve and the desire for a quick fix.

Eight major transitions in evolution:

1. The first self-replicating molecules
2. Association of base acids, leading to RNA, DNA and eventually genes
3. Linking of genes to form chromosomes
4. Enclosure of chromosomes within membranes to form cells (prokaryotes)
5. Cells with their genetic material segregated in a nucleus (eukaryotes)
6. Association of cells to form "communities" of multi-cellular organisms
7. Differentiation of cells into aggregate colonies of tissues and organs
8. The formation of species, families, and communities

The Natural Process of Politics

• Liberty and Order:  E pluribus unum
• A More perfect Union -- A set of checks and balances delineated primarily in three major principles:
  • Federalism
  • Separation of Powers
  • Supreme Law of the Land

The Politics of Self

the struggle between individuality and togetherness exists in every relationship system.

The force for individuality is suspect when it comes to human institutions.

It is only when self is valued that leaders can be less at the mercy of the data/technique deluge.

The grammatical uniqueness of selfish reflects the ambivalence inherent in the reality of self.

Togetherness will work for leaders to the extent that the system remains well differentiated.

One problem is that the togetherness force has been equated with morality.

Anyone who whishes to advance our species or an institution must possess those qualities which those of little self will perceive as narcissistic.

To be a leader, one must both have and embody a vision of where one wants to go.

The increased understanding of the immune system changed other notions so that the destruction of what is not self was seen to be a byproduct of the capacity to recognize what in effect is toxic.

There are four characteristics of the immune response that have parallels for human relationships:

• The immune system makes possible the category of self
• It does not come full blown at birth, but grows from response to challenge
• It is necessary for closeness, proximity, and love
• It can be perverted to attack the host

Four characteristics of the immune system have relevance for leadership:

• The nature of its development
• Role in differentiation
• Role in relationships
• Susceptibility to becoming perverse

Differentiation refers to a direction in life rather than a state of being:

• To the capacity to take a stand in an intense emotional system.
• To saying "I" when others are demanding "we"
• To containing one's reactivity to the reactivity of others
• To maintaining anon-anxious presence in the face of anxious others
• To knowing where one ends and another begins
• To being able to cease automatically being one of the system's emotional dominoes
• To being clear about one's own personal values and goals
• To taking maximum responsibility for one's own emotional being and destiny rather than blaming others or the context

< Back

Friedman, E. H.  A failure of nerve:  Leadership in the age of the quick fix.