Fearless Leadership

This is the fourth in a series of articles based on the Six Ways of Ruling, a teaching that was first presented by the founder of Shambhala, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1978 and further expounded upon by his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, in his book Ruling Your World (Chapters 22-23). The “Six Ways” are qualities of a leader who wishes to join heaven and earth; that is, to execute power inspired by wisdom. The six qualities are: benevolent, true, genuine, fearless, artful, and rejoicing. This article is based on a talk given on February 21, 2013 at the Washington, DC Shambhala Center.

The first three Ways of Ruling – benevolent, true, and genuine – are about a leader’s vision and principles. They essentially deal with being just. The next three Ways of Ruling relate to the qualities a wise leader needs in order to be powerful.

Taking a leap

Fearlessness is the first aspect of being a powerful leader and in bringing vision and the inner qualities we discussed in the first three Ways of Ruling into actualization. Despite the way the word sounds in English, fearlessness does not mean being without fear. What is meant by fearlessness here is the ability to meet one’s fear directly and to go into and through it. Our first instinct when confronted with a situation that we fear or are uncertain of is to either ignore it or run away from it. A powerful and just leader, however, must learn how to actually admit the presence of fear, remain in the face of it, and go through it. This requires that we take a great leap into unfamiliar, unknown, or scary terrain.

Being beyond doubt about basic goodness

How can we do the counter-intuitive and lean into fear instead of trying to evade it? It is possible only if we are “beyond doubt about basic goodness.”  That is to say, only by possessing complete confidence that every one of those scary unknown individuals, events, or situations have arisen out of the ground of “basic goodness”. This means seeing each situation as containing the seeds of wisdom, compassion, and power within it. There is and can be no situation that does not arise out of the same ground as we do, for everything possesses basic goodness. In Nonviolent Communication, the basis for resolving conflicts and speaking without aggression is a conviction in the fact that there are basic needs and feelings that all people share, Speaking from this common ground, rather than from the surface level differences of opinion and interpretation, can often diffuse divisive speech. It shifts the focus from what divides us to what unites us, from how we are different, to how we are the same. Similarly, when faced with difficult or unknown situations which tend to provoke fear or aggression, if we have unwavering conviction in basic goodness, we can relax more and trust the situation. We can relate on a common, deeper level rather than be sabotaged by surface level discrepancies and differences. It is confidence in this ground, free from doubt, which allows us to be fearless.

Relaxing into gentle compassion

When fear arises, our mind becomes tight and we tend to solidify the situation that’s before us. When we relax our mind, however, we develop a sense of gentleness. We realize that anything can happen, anything is possible, and only by relaxing our grip can we let go and be one with a situation. To relax in this way takes tremendous gentleness. Relaxing into a situation means merging with it, like sinking into quicksand—the more you struggle, the quicker you sink. If we care enough to lead others, we must be willing to become one with a situation, entering into it fully and deeply.

The gentle quality of fearlessness is said to be rooted in unwavering compassion. Compassion means feeling with others. It requires leaning in and listening deeply to the pain, fear, and frustrations of those we lead and those who may be opposing us. It means giving up trying to aggressively control the situation and instead truly feel the present situation as it is, in all its fullness. It is only then that we gain the essential trust needed for others to work with us.

Trusting interdependence

When we lean into difficult situations in working with others it is easy to become frustrated. In response, we’re often tempted to just “go it alone.” We may even be tempted to think that we’ll get more accomplished this way. But if we truly want to develop as a leader and to gauge how we’re doing, we need triggers and mirrors. If we want to temper our anger, how can we know how far we’ve come without putting ourselves in situations where our anger will be triggered? If we want to develop patience, how can we know we’re progressing if we micro-manage every situation or try to work “single-handedly” without anyone to be our mirror that can reflects our own patterns of impatience back to us? How do we know if our decisions ultimately are wise or if they’re simply “intellectual” theories without getting some type of feedback about how our decisions have actually influenced others? The reality is, the more a leader can fearlessly embrace difficult situations as opportunities, rather than threats, and see them as chances to develop the noble qualities of gentleness and compassion, the quicker we will progress in developing the noble qualities of leadership.

To exercise this type of leadership requires fearlessness engagement. Being willing to lean into and stay with situations and people, no matter how difficult or painful they become, is the mark of a true leader—the type of leader who trusts in community and the strength and insight that come from working with others. And when that trust is felt by others, they then freely give us the power to lead them to where they must go.

by Chris Montone