Agog and a couple ccd’s…

Yesterday, during practice with a surprisingly strong client, I introduced him to some history he hadn’t quite heard of. We were reviewing his writing regarding some of his PA around tying the essentials of courage and discipline together. He got a little history lesson along the way. The learning began with a question. I asked him what group of people our founders studied back in the day when they decided to do something nuts and rebel against the world’s number one super power – England. He didn’t know.

I was in a giving mood. I gave him the answer. Our founders studied the ancient Greeks – the Spartans in particular. The Spartans built warriors with disciplined courage by putting them through practice from the time they were 7. By the time they reached 18 they were ready to fight. The physical practice was killer, literally, oftentimes. The mental practice was freakin’ magic and even harder than the physical. This is where my client and I focused yesterday. The Spartans made their young men stand alone while peers and leaders hurled insult after insult aimed at dislodging the one under attack from control of his emotions. You see, they wanted their warriors to remain calm and in control, regardless the circumstance. It worked. The Spartans would walk onto the field of battle singing songs and laughing while their opponent shit themselves on the other side. The Spartans embodied disciplined courage.

My client is not nearly mentally tough enough. Here’s how I know this. I can light him up at a moments notice and oftentimes do so. Yesterday, I shared a few stories where I had put him through a little taste of the agog in practices past. We laughed as we reflected back to how quickly he became unhinged. He’s made much progress and still has much improvement ahead. He like every leader has to learn to control his emotions without shutting them down. As Aristotle taught long ago, the magic is in communicating the right emotion, to the right degree, to the right audience, and at the right time. Too many leaders have had too little practice in building the disciplined courage to simply keep their mouth shut.

Yesterday, my client got better. He kept his mouth shut and his ears open much longer than his norm. I applauded his progress after his mini Agog moment. Good.

Want to become a better leader? The next time someone hurls insults your way or, much more likely, dares to disagree with one of your proclamations, practice keeping your emotions in check. Keep your mouth shut. Stay engaged too. And, ask them to tell you more. We could use a few more mentally tough leaders. You see, mentally tough leaders remain calm and by doing so, make more consistent calls. Calm. Cansistent. Decisive. Yup, it’s another ccd to go along with clear, concise, and direct. Good…