INsight/ Getting to Clarity

The Zhongnan mountains, from the documentary Hermits directed by He Shiping.

Manila, 26 October 2022 — What it takes to lead change in a complex world.

Story

It happened almost five thousand years ago. Concerned with the multitude of challenges facing the people that he had united into one country, Huangdi, the mythical first emperor of China, was looking for a successor. Not sure that his own offspring were up to the task, he looked for a truly wise person who had gained clarity about what was really important, and he proceeded to offer the job to a hermit. A stunning choice. Or was it? And while the hermit turned down his offer, he kept at it, with his example followed by other rulers later.

Throughout China’s history, hermits who spent time getting to clarity in the mountains have played an important role in society, even in cities. One of them, a respected leader in government, Tao Hongqing (456-536), who has been called China’s Leonardo da Vinci, was known as Prime Minister of the Mountain because of the clarity he had gained as a hermit learning from Taoist and Buddhist masters on Maoshan mountain. Not surprisingly, the movement he founded became known as the Highest Clarity school. Today, if you look closely at China’s famous landscape paintings, you will often find a hermit’s hut hidden among the trees. Later on, the Zhongnan mountains outside Xian, the nation’s capital during several dynasties, became a well-trodden destination for hermits. At some point, becoming a hermit there was even regarded as a shortcut to a successful political career.

In China, “far from being misanthropes, [hermits] are important members of society,” notes Red Pine, aka Bill Porter, a translator of ancient Chinese texts and the author of Road to Heaven, in which he documented his encounters with hundreds of hermits in modern China. The book, which is more popular in China than elsewhere, has also led to Hermits, a documentary giving a visual impression of hermit life in the Zhongnan mountains (pictured in the photo). In recent decades, shares Red Pine, the number of hermits in Zhongnan has tripled from two hundred to six hundred, many of whom are women, and with a growing number of highly educated seekers with college degrees who see their years on the mountain as a kind of graduate education to gain clarity about what really matters in life and work. Apparently, the shortcut still holds.

Challenge

Just as in the time of the mythical emperor Huangdi, our world today needs leaders who have gained clarity about what really matters in life and work. Not just at the top level of government, but at all levels of society. For each of us to make a useful contribution during our life, we need to first get clear ourselves, so that we can help to find solutions to the truly complex challenges we face, from global warming and climate injustice to armed conflict, from economic uncertainty to widespread dissatisfaction with politics, from eroding trust in democratic institutions and the rule of law to the rise of burnout, anxiety, and confusion about the values we need to govern our businesses, our communities, and our world.

What, then, are the challenges we face as leaders when we decide on getting to clarity first? Of course, when you apply this question to yourself, it turns from a general into a deeply personal question. A question that only you can answer. However, before you get to answering that personally in the next section, let’s look at three common challenges we face when answering the call of getting to clarity, based on my personal and coaching experiences.

The first is to make a radical choice to “leave home” (the Chinese term) and find a quiet place to stretch yourself outside your comfort zone. Not to leave family and society behind as a misanthrope, but as a seeker of clarity that is hard to find in your day-to-day life. I know many people who have taken a long or shorter break to do this. Personally, my time as a monk has helped me immensely and I’m still benefiting from that experience many years on. Where there is a will there is a way, and you can make it happen and find the way for you. It’s a big decision, clearly, and one you won’t regret. The second is to build a habit of frequently practicing mindfulness and meditation in solitude, wherever you can find or create that solitude for yourself. A whole new way of defining ME time that will help to keep you on the right journey and replenish your energy, including when you feel down. The third is to find like-minded people who are on the same quest and can support you on your journey, and vice versa.

Question

So what does this story about hermits and getting to clarity mean for you? Well, that’s my personal question for you this week. What have you done, and what are you doing now, to get to clarity about what you will prioritize in your life and work? Where have you found solitude to get clarity about what matters most to you? What are you devoting your life to and why? As long as you haven’t gotten clear about this, how can you expect to contribute your best to bring change and improve society around you, and our planet? 

Getting to clarity about what really matters in your life lies at the heart of your journey as a leader. It takes time and effort in solitude to discover what really matters and to distinguish that from the fluff and decoration that constantly distracts us in our busy world. Asia’s wisdom traditions have long taught that the heart of your leadership journey is not about more knowledge, but rather about gaining a direct personal experience about what really matters. This is echoed, to some extent, in the modern leadership development research that shows how most of your leadership growth will come from being stretched during uncomfortable challenges. It’s something you have to discover for yourself.

In summary, this is why getting to clarity is an integral part of the work that leaders do as they take on challenges, guided by a coach. In our leadership coaching work, we focus on the whole person, so that you get ready to write the next chapters of your book of life with clarity and confidence. If this post resonates with you, and you experience a sense of calling to get to clarity as a leader, then go ahead and make good use of the moment before it passes. Book a free strategy call so that we can discuss what your challenges and aspirations are and where you want to go with developing your leadership.