Last week I returned to a topic of interest to me – Joseph Campbell’s work around the hero’s journey.  You can read  a brief description of the hero’s journey by following this link.  As leaders, we are called at times to embark on a journey for which we feel ill prepared.  The journey begins with the seed of an idea and yet the precise destination may be unknown, as is the “how” of the journey.  Joseph Jaworski wrote a compelling account of his own hero’s journey in his book Synchronicity:  The Inner Path of Leadership.  As I mentioned in my blog posting last week (On the threshold of change), leaders also face another challenge:  that of having to decide how to respond when those they lead are saying no to their own personal call to adventure.  Over the years, and even at the most senior levels, I have seen men and women baulk when it comes to addressing the symptoms they see that an employee is saying no to this call.


How do you know that an employee is saying no to some journey that is opening to them – if only he or she would take the first step?  Sometimes, you can see that an employee is doing a great job and could easily progress – if only he or she would own the talents which everyone else can so clearly see.  Sometimes an employee is clinging tightly to a role in which he or she is performing badly.  This may be a role which has grown faster than the role holder or perhaps a role to which the role holder was never well suited.  Sometimes the employee is doing a perfectly good job for the organisation and still, he or she never quite sparkles (even though his or her eyes light up when talking about a hobby or some other activity outside work).  Sometimes an employee has something to face which may be nothing to do with work – an illness, for example, or the breakdown of a marriage or intimate relationship.  Whatever the situation, you are witness to another’s call to adventure when you can see some incongruity, some discrepancy, between the “where I am now” and the “where I might be” or even “where I need to be” of an employee.


Maybe this issue is yours to address as a responsible leader, as it is, for example, when an employee is failing to deliver the minimum requirements for a job.  Sometimes there is no requirement on you to speak with an employee and still…  Either way, your self talk is highly instructive, highlighting what you fear most about addressing the issue with your employee.  Often, the fear expressed on the surface is a fear for the leader’s employee.  Underneath it, however, lies some fear for yourself.  Typical examples of leaders’ self talk (together with examples of the kind of the thing the leader is not saying) include:

•  He’s done so much for the company I owe it to him to make it work in this job.  (I’m scared of speaking honestly with him about his performance for fear of being criticised after all he’s done for me);
• She’s been such a loyal friend over the years – how can I do this to her?  (I’m scared of being seen as a poor friend if I tell her plainly that she’s not doing a good job);
• If he get’s promoted what will I do without him?  I owe it to the company to hold onto him as long as I can.  (I’m scared that my boss will be angry if he finds out I’ve encouraged him to move on);
• Her marriage is not my business – how can I possibly talk to her about it?  (I’m scared of putting my foot right in it and being held responsible if the whole thing goes wrong).