Joanna
Francis: “A leader of self will
be someone who is focused and determined,
a person who has accepted their lot but works to improve it,
always looking for ways and means
to further what they see to be their mission in life.” |
Joanna’s fascination with human
behavior as well as her search for
personal religion and for an
understanding of the unseen
worlds has driven her on a quest
from Canada where she was
born, to Poland where she grew
up and received an MA in English
literature, to England where she
lived for many years, then back
to Canada where she currently
lectures, writes and is co-founder
of Feminenza. Joanna also teaches
a variety of workshops in
Canada, Europe, Israel and the
U.S. and is author of several
books, including ‘In-Tuition’, the
story of one woman’s spiritual
journey towards a better
understanding of the planet, life,
and her own special part within it.
Have
you ever had the thought that at this very moment, as you are reading
this,
you
are the most experienced and the wisest
you have ever been? And tomorrow you will
be able to say it again, I am the most experienced
I have ever been, and the day after
tomorrow again. The question then arises,
what have we learnt from our experiences?
Is it conscious? Is it valued? Is it shared?
I
have recently had the opportunity to facilitate a series of workshops
for women
concerning leadership, as well as another series entitled: Your Seven
Wisdoms - the
Psychology of Ageing. The process of these
workshops is designed to guide a person
towards the realisation that leadership of
others begins with leadership of self.
In our lives we play many parts, from child
to student, to friend, girlfriend, lover, wife,
mother, career woman, cook, cleaner,
manager, leader and so many others.
The three actresses within us - the Female,
the Woman and the Lady - also play their
parts, each having their desires, their
demands, qualities and tendencies. Within this multiplicity that
each one of us represents,
we are like an entire empire and
sometimes it might seem that there is no
leadership or government in place, with
each part pulling in a different direction.
In realising this fact, it is at this point that a
person experiences the need for leadership
of self, and it mostly does not come into
the picture until they acquire a degree of
knowledge and understanding of self as
well as having been through a process
that brings them to a practical decision
concerning what they want.
To
be effective, a leader needs to have an aim and a mission, something
to rally behind, to bring
all the many parts in line and into agreement. If the Female with
her
needs of self-expression and discovery
listens to the Woman, who is the practical,
mature and responsible manager within us,
then she will be able to exercise her freedom
and femininity within safe boundaries.
If the Woman listens to the Lady who
brings quality and standards into the equation,
then her path will be aimed towards
development and refinement, being mindful
of her influence on those around her
and on the planet itself. She will want to
leave behind a legacy that would make this
world a better place for her having been
here.
So
a leader of self will be someone who is focused and determined,
a person who has
accepted their lot but works to improve it, always looking for
ways and means to
further what they see to be their mission
in life. If you meet such a person, you will
know them by their maturity, irrespective of
age, and by the fact that they will have little
time for gossip, judgement of others or
childish, irresponsible behaviour. They will
radiate surety and they will have a fundamental
gratitude for the fact of being alive
and being given an opportunity to do something
useful with their time here on planet
earth, which is short and diminishing daily.
They will command respect because they
will have self-respect and their Lady life will
be actively involved in all major decisions
that they may choose to make.
The
real leader of you is the You inside you - the Tenant, who has
access and power
of persuasion over the other three - the
Female, Woman and Lady. It is she who has
the greater view that can stretch to the stars and further,
and can adopt a long-term
purpose that takes into consideration
consequences that reach beyond this life.
In
practical terms, becoming a leader of self begins with the important
decision: what
do you want? And as each life within you
might have different wishes and desires, it
will be a question that will need an answer
from all parts, tested in many circumstances,
untill there is a unified response and
an agreement from all the lives, forged
and tested by time, brought together like
strands in a cord or notes in a symphony
to form a strong central theme of your life. Leadership towards the Future
What makes a person a leader? Having a
progressive vision that is infectious and
inspires others, carrying them on a wave of
contagion towards the future? Or a person
who is a leader of self first, who then
responds to the need of the times, rising to
the occasion that presents itself to them?
If
a group of people, like a tribe or a nation, is an organism,
then a leader will
be a person or group of people who can
effectively bring the head and the heart
together in response to a need, to help the
group perform an octave leap into something
new that is appearing in that place
and at that time as a window of opportunity
and progression. There are moments
in history when leaders are called for and
appear, bringing together and merging the
need of the times with a person who has
been made ready by having become a
leader of self and by experience, a person
who is able to rise to the occasion, certain
of the sanctity of their mission. Within
the native history of North America, among the Iroquois or Cherokee
tribes for
example, there was a tradition that the
elder women of the tribe, known as the
Clan Mothers, would have the final say
concerning important tribal decisions.
The Council of Chiefs would bring their
suggestions and the results of their
deliberations to the Clan Mothers, but
the final ratification rested with the
women of proven wisdom.
These
are rapidly changing times that call for new forms of leadership,
where both
genders can be heard and have a valid
contribution to make, based on wisdom,
experience and a real appreciation for the
need of the times. Will such a leadership
come to exist during our lifetime?
It depends on you and me. |
