Leading with innate values

Category: Editorial

I have been following an exercise programme developed by Pete Egoscue and described in his book Pain Free: a revolutionary method for stopping chronic pain. I don't suffer any pain but was attracted by recommendations that his system will improve posture. I was diagnosed with slight curvature of the spine when I had a medical examination with my first job. I think it was probably a result of carrying a heavy haversack full of books slung over one shoulder for much of my secondary school life. Diagnosis but no treatment - or even life style advice.

Things have moved on since then and some members of the medical profession – but mainly non-members of that profession - have discovered common sense and ancient teaching.

Egoscue believes that many ailments are a result of musculoskeletal dysfunction – basically not standing up straight and symmetrical. He has been able to achieve rapid and significant cures by restoring patients' musculoskeletal functions that, for whatever reason, have been lost. As we become progressively deformed – even in only tiny ways – different muscles learn to compensate.

What interests me in terms of leadership development is that his exercises are very mild to remind the muscles of what they already know. It is sufficient for the muscles to rediscover their correct function. It is not necessary to do heavy strength building exercises such as you would experience in a gym – just access the body's memory. In fact he warns against gym exercise until the the body has been realigned because strength building exercises will strengthen the compensating muscles and reinforce the misalignment.

Provided that young children are allowed to crawl and to play and are not forced early into rigid shoes, their bodies will achieve a natural balance and their muscles will establish a benchmark relationship that can still be accessed much later in life.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, I understand, the economies of those countries that had been under communism only since World War II made rapid progess, whereas those that had succumbed before the war were much less successful. This is because in the first case there was still within living memory a model of entrepreneurial business to draw on.

Results of bad government are corruption among officials and black and grey markets in goods and services. Results of bad management are bullying and fraud. Very often it is a lot more difficult to eradicate these than it was allow them to develop. However, if we believe that everybody has an innate sense of right and wrong, a courageous leader can draw on this and energise a whole organisation – or country – to live up to its ideals.

Unfortunately the more common approach is to attempt to drive out bad behaviour by a combination of controls and punishments.

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PS: Next week will be the last CorporateCoach before my annual break for August.

Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group and specialises in transition coaching for directors.
He helps managers who think they ought to be directors and directors who still think like managers.

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