Enduring Dissonance
This last section of my book provides some philosophical advice based on Stoic principles to deal with the often unfavorable environment for humane leadership in the corporate world.
A few years ago, a CIO and head of a corporate IT department with around 5,000 employees worldwide, responsible for an annual budget of hundreds of millions of euros for external services, told me in passing that he saw himself also as a middle manager. This may have been his justification for why he could not take any further action in the matter presented to him (supporting the Working Out Loud movement). However, this comment also shows the tension between aspiration and reality in which many leaders find themselves today.
On the one hand, they have found a suitable leadership philosophy for themselves or are actively working on it and strive to lead their area of responsibility accordingly. On the other hand, they are part of a larger system and thus embedded in less modern or at least differently shaped structures and processes. In many cases, their dreary everyday life in the company will likely remind them of this sobering summary by the German economist Knut Bleicher:1
We work in yesterday's structures with today's methods on strategies for tomorrow, mainly with people who created yesterday’s structures and who will not experience the day after tomorrow in the company.
It is one thing to develop a coherent modern leadership philosophy for oneself. However, enduring the tension between this aspiration and the harsh reality of day-to-day management in mostly traditional structures is something completely different. This cognitive dissonance, i.e., the incongruence of beliefs and reality, has already been described in Section “He Who Says A Does Not Have to Say B.” We tend to resolve those conflicts like the fox in Aesop's famous fable, who doesn't want to admit that he can't reach the grapes and therefore claims that they are sour anyway and that he doesn't want to get them. Problem solved.
The cognitive dissonance between aspiration and reality arises for modern leadership in two directions: On the one hand, between the gardener's attitude, which provides the framework conditions for the development of human potential, and the often conflicting demands of the organization, for which good leadership primarily means having a firm grip on one's store like a chess master. On the other hand, not all people are immediately willing and able to accept the newly granted freedom and the responsibility that comes with it. Hence, to the gardener's embarrassment, the garden often produces more weeds than fruit at first.
To make matters worse, both areas of tension reinforce each other. The initial disappointment with employees who don't pull their weight as expected is exacerbated by the malevolence of other managers and the request from the boss to get their store in order finally. This dissonance is difficult to bear, and it is not uncommon for initially ambitious leaders to resign themselves to their fate and lead people as they seem to deserve it and as the organization expects them to manage their shop.
However, correcting one's convictions and aspirations and ultimately distorting oneself is just one way to mitigate this dissonance—certainly not the most fulfilling and healthy one. Adding new consonant cognitions is a better way to deal with this dissonance. The factual day-to-day management experience may be disappointing and frustrating at first, but not always and everywhere. However, these rays of hope are easily buried under the avalanche of all the things that don't work as desired. Recognizing these bright spots, consciously highlighting them, and celebrating them helps immensely. Sometimes, it is also worth looking over the fence of your own organization into the garden of other companies and leaders, either through personal exchange or at least by reading the relevant literature.2
Doing Your Best
Perhaps the Stoics' philosophy of life is being rediscovered because of these turbulent times we live in, making us undoubtedly feel powerless. Stoicism differs from many other schools of philosophy in that it is very close to life and practical. The Stoics were always concerned with leading a good and meaningful life. To this end, Stoicism offers numerous timeless considerations and practical guidance.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” What the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr asks for in this well-known Serenity Prayer, particularly the wisdom to distinguish between things within our control and those over which we have no power, is a central practice of the Stoics. Epictetus, for example, writes right at the beginning of his famous handbook: “Some things are up to us and some are not up to us.”3 As a Stoic philosopher, he was concerned with distinguishing clearly between those two categories so that we can focus our attention on the things over which we truly have power. He then continues and gives examples of both categories: “Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions—in short, whatever is our own doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is, whatever is not our own doing.”
Modern, career-oriented people tend to disagree with Epictetus reflexively and intuitively see wealth, prestige, and office as being in their power. After all, that is what our meritocracy is all about. But are these things entirely within our control? This may be the flaw in thinking that causes many people to become dissatisfied or even burn out.
The dichotomy Epictetus suggests is, in fact, a trichotomy. In addition to the things that are entirely under our control, we need to further distinguish between things over which we have no control and those over which we have at least partial control.4 It stands to reason that it is pointless and detrimental to our peace of mind to get worked up about things that we cannot influence. The weather is a popular, albeit harmless, example of this category. More worrying are things like the outbreak of a pandemic or war, over which we have no control. Stoic art is to face these uncontrollable circumstances calmly, to accept them in a backward-looking way, and yet to actively shape life, society, and the future in a forward-looking way.
The Stoics were not lethargic hermits without worldly ambitions but were often intensely and successfully involved in society and politics. Marcus Aurelius, the most important representative of the younger Stoics, was one of the most influential Roman emperors. Cato the Younger's inclination to Stoicism did not hold him back from “fighting bravely to restore the Roman Republic.” More evident is this pattern with Seneca: “Besides being a philosopher, he was a successful playwright, an advisor to an emperor, and the first-century equivalent of an investment banker.”5
So how does it fit into the stoic worldview to concentrate only on the things over which we have power on the one hand and yet be highly successful in areas that are beyond our control? The answer lies in the third category of things, i.e., those over which we have some influence. The outcome of a tennis match is not entirely within our control, but we are not completely powerless either. On the one hand, we can train to the best of our ability, and on the other, we can positively influence the outcome by trying to perform at our best. If we still lose the match, our peace of mind is not threatened because we have nothing to blame ourselves for.
The goals we set ourselves make all the difference. Training to the best of our ability and playing as well as possible is entirely within our control, but winning the match is not. Training, motivation, and concentration during the game will help us win, but many other factors outside our control stand in the way. The same applies to the things listed by Epictetus, namely “our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices.” We can and should choose goals that are entirely within our control and positively impact those aspirations outside our control.
“By internalizing his goals in daily life, the Stoic is able to preserve his tranquility while dealing with things over which he has only partial control.”6 This wise focus on goals within our power is the crucial link between ambition and serenity. This attitude is particularly helpful when it comes to enduring the tension described in the previous section between our own aspirations and values and those of the surrounding organization and its culture. Much of this is beyond our direct control and influence as a leader. To aim for this would mean tilting at windmills like Don Quixote. Nevertheless, we can set ourselves goals within our power and do our best to embody the change we want to see in the organization with sincerity and courage.
Table of Contents
All links lead to the parts that are already published here on Substack.
Enduring Dissonance
Doing Your Best
The next chapter will follow next Friday. In case you want to read on as soon as possible, the book is available on Amazon in many countries as hardcover, paperback, and for your Kindle. (also on Leanpub). And all my German readers can get the German edition in every book store.
St. Gallen Business School, “Knut Bleicher - St. Galler Business School,” 2017, https://sgbs.ch/ueber-uns/management-valley-st-gallen/knut-bleicher/.
Frédéric Laloux and Ken Wilber, Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the next Stage of Human Consciousness, First edition (Brussels: Nelson Parker, 2014); Bodo Janssen, Die stille Revolution: Führen mit Sinn und Menschlichkeit, 7. Auflage (München: Ariston, 2016); Laszlo Bock, Work Rules! Insights from inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead, First published in paperback (London: John Murray, 2016); Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, and David Heinemeier Hansson, ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever (London: Vermilion, 2010).
Epictetus, Handbook of Epictetus, trans. Nicolas White (Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1983).
William Braxton Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), Kindle-Edition, 85ff.
Irvine, 8.
Irvine, 96f.