I love the concept of manifesto. It is a focused statement of intent and commitment to specific behaviors by which we can choose to live our lives and leadership. It simplifies our choices down to a clear principled and moral compass.
I thought the best way to create one was to do it in conjunction with our personal values, as established through the lens of the stages of development, mapped out by Clare Graves. I have previously written about values and their pitfalls. Here we explore the strengths of these values and use them to craft useful manifest statements.
survival
This stage of values development is about meeting our basic needs: food and shelter. From the point of view of the manifest, I think of it like this:
“I have enough. I am enough.”
belonging
This is a primary security need as well. Being part of a community keeps us safe and nurtures our esteem. For my personal leadership manifesto, I create this:
“Everyone has a right to belong. My job as a leader is to help them know and feel like they do.”
“Membership is non-negotiable. However, we can disagree, that’s not up for discussion.”
Energy
As leaders, exercising power is a privileged responsibility. The euphoria of it can lead us astray. Inspired by martial arts masters, I love this:
“The stronger I am, the gentler I become.”
And from the ancient Romans, reminding their generals to be wary of arrogance:
“Remember, you are mortal.”
Organize
Being a lawyer, my husband has a great affinity for this set of values: rules, structure, process. We have friendly disagreements about how to hang clothes. I’ll take his principle in this case because he keeps me from getting too set in my ways:
“There is no right way to do things, but there might be better ways.”
Wealth
This stage of value development celebrates achievement. It is incredibly energizing! I know personally that I am prone to overwork with this one. I have long held this in my Tony Robbins manifesto:
“Are you achieving to be happy, or happily achieving?”
This reminds me that the process should be as rewarding as the result.
Social
Focusing on the collective and being more inclusive has been my center of gravity for some time. This definitely holds me up:
“Every human being is fighting a battle we can’t see. When in doubt, be kind.”
Innovation
Creativity and contribution are the drivers here. This is how we can thrive on complexity, appreciating and working with systems. For the manifest:
“Dive, don’t surf.”
The idea here is to go below the surface of the challenges and look for the systemic drivers that are causing the problems.
Balance
This is where the perspective that is both wise and compassionate comes to the fore. There is a bit of surrender in it. I borrowed this from reader and longtime client John De Majnik. I know it helped him live happily, and I admire him.
“Everything turns out better than expected.”
To you! I’d love to hear manifest statements from her. Please share – on the blog, or by clicking reply.
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