Controlling is part of the grasping nature of our ego, trying to survive the uncertainty and vulnerability of life. We all inherited the neuro-chemical pathways from our primate ancestors who succeeded in passing on their genes to the next generations. Some evolved towards a sedentary life; they controlled fire and tamed dogs and horses.
And here we are now, leaders of the 21stcentury attempting to control everything around us!
However, in modern times (especially since the 90’s), controlling strategies have started to show their limitations, becoming mal-adaptive to organizations of the 21stcentury. Life has become too fast, unpredictable and much too complex to control consistently.
In order to explore new leadership paradigms outside of a control and command type, it might be useful to better understand our controlling nature and the consequences of it.
This will be the subject of my future posts. So, please stay tuned!
Meanwhile, here are a few questions to help you reflect on your own controlling nature:
What are your controlling tendencies? What and who do you tend to want to control? What do you do? What are the typical consequences?