The Fundamental State of Leadership

In his book, Building the Bridge as You Walk On It, University of Michigan professor, Robert Quinn makes the distinction between the "normal state" and what he calls the Fundamental State of Leadership.

I have summarized the distinctions between these two approaches to leadership in this table.

As you read through the characteristics of the normal and fundamental states, ask yourself which one characterizes your leadership. Better, evaluate what percentage of your time you believe you are operating in each state.

Fundamental State of Leadership vs. The Normal State
Normal State	Fundamental State
Self-Focused: I tend to be ego driven, putting my interests ahead of the collective interests in a given relationship or set of relationships.	Other-Focused: I am transcending my ego, putting the common good and welfare of others first, increasing in authenticity and transparency, nurturing trust, and enriching the levels of connectivity in my networks.
Internally Closed: I tend to stay in my comfort zone, denying external signals for change.	Externally Open: I am moving outside my comfort zone, experimenting, seeking real feedback, adapting, and reaching exponentially higher levels of discovery, awareness, competence, and vision.
Externally Directed: I tend to define myself by how I think I am seen and how well I am able to obtain external resources.	Internally Directed: I am continually examining my hypocrisy and closing the gaps between my values and behavior. I am reaching higher levels of personal security and confidence.
Comfort-Centered: I tend to engage in problem-solving activities, thus living in a reactive state.	Purpose-Centered: I am clarifying what result I want to create. I am committed and engaged, full of energy and holding an unwavering standard as I pursue a meaningful task.

While we may strive to operate in the Fundamental State of Leadership as an ideal, we must admit that most of the time we operate in the normal state.

In our best leadership moments we are there. But we are only there for a moment.

The key is that we must be intentional - there's that word again - about entering the Fundamental State of  Leadership.

We must choose to be other-focused, externally open, internally directed, and purpose-centered.