Organizations learn only through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not guarantee organizational learning. But without it no organizational learning occurs.

In Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline, one of the five disciplines is personal mastery (the others being systems thinking, mental models, building shared vision, and team learning). Senge equates personal mastery with personal growth and learning, espoused by those who “are continually expanding their ability to create the results in life they truly seek.”

As much as I’d like to think that I care about personal growth and learning, I sometimes wonder if I’m really as serious as I can be. Reading this section made me realize that there are some gaps for me to cross in order to get closer to personal mastery.

People with a high level of personal mastery share several basic characteristics. They have a special sense of purpose that lies behind their visions and goals. For such a person, a vision is a calling rather than simply a good idea. They see current reality as an ally, not an enemy. They have learned how to perceive and work with forces of change rather than resist those forces. They are deeply inquisitive, committed to continually seeing reality more and more accurately. They feel connected to others and to life itself. Yet they sacrifice none of their uniqueness. They feel as if they are part of a larger creative process, which they can influence but cannot unilaterally control.

People with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual learning mode. They never “arrive.” Sometimes, language, such as the term “personal mastery,” creates a misleading sense of definiteness, of black and white. But personal mastery is not something you possess. It is a process. It is a lifelong discipline. People with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas. And they are deeply self-confident. Paradoxical? Only for those who do not see that “the journey is the reward.”

There’s a lot to unpack in these two paragraphs. What jumps out at me is the ability to see the world as it is and to embrace the resistant forces and constraints, seeing them as opportunities to be creative. I found the concept of personal mastery to be a very spiritual one as it entails a never-ending journey that is, in itself, the reward.

“Another and equally important reason why we encourage our people in this quest is the impact which full personal development can have on individual happiness. To seek personal fulfillment only outside of work and to ignore the significant portion of our lives which we spend working, would be to limit our opportunities to be happy and complete human beings.”

Senge quotes Bill O’Brien, former president of Hanover Insurance, who fervently believed in having managers with personal mastery and the role of the organization in fostering personal growth among its employees. This is a good reminder for me that hiring the right team members with a yearning for personal growth and investing in resources and providing opportunities for continued development will lead to happier people.

Imagine a rubber band, stretched between your vision and current reality. When stretched, the rubber band creates tension, representing the tension between vision and current reality. What does tension seek? Resolution or release. There are only two possible ways for the tension to resolve itself: pull reality toward the vision or pull the vision toward reality. Which occurs will depend on whether we hold steady to the vision.

Senge introduces the concept of creative tension which is the gap between vision and current reality that is also a source of energy. Vision is a “specific destination, a picture of a desired future” that is supported by a purpose, “a direction, a general heading.” Our ability to persevere and to embrace the constraints and challenges presented by our current reality on our path towards achieving our vision is what characterizes mastery of creative tension, and therefore, personal mastery.

Mastery of creative tension transforms the way one views “failure.” Failure is, simply, a shortfall, evidence of the gap between vision and current reality. Failure is an opportunity for learning—about inaccurate pictures of current reality, about strategies that didn’t work as expected, about the clarity of the vision. Failures are not about our unworthiness or powerlessness.

I love this point about failure. Oftentimes, we let failures consume us and push us into compromising on our vision or eroding our goals. But when failures are embraced as opportunities to learn and a data point to use for reconfiguring our strategic approach to life, we become less afraid of facing reality as it is.

Commitment to the truth does not mean seeking the Truth, the absolute final word or ultimate cause. Rather, it means a relentless willingness to root out the ways we limit or deceive ourselves from seeing what is, and to continually challenge our theories of why things are the way they are. It means continually broadening our awareness, just as the great athlete with extraordinary peripheral vision keeps trying to see more of the playing field. It also means continually deepening our understanding of the structures underlying current events. Specifically, people with high levels of personal mastery see more of the structural conflicts underlying their own behavior.

Reading this paragraph reminded me of this post by Ramit Sethi on stories we tell ourselves that may not even be true anymore but have become a crutch that shields us from facing reality and attempting change. I’ve deceived myself over the years in many ways, and it’s been an uncomfortable undertaking to identify these “structural conflicts underlying [my] own behavior.” In fact, it’s still an on-going process that never ends. I find myself blaming external circumstances (e.g. “Why did so and so mess up on this so badly?”) or placing artificial constraints on my own abilities (e.g. “I’m not good at math, so I’ll ask someone else to figure this out”) when I could be digging deeper to find structural barriers that are the root cause of many problems.

What then can leaders intent on fostering personal mastery do? They can work relentlessly to foster a climate in which the principles of personal mastery are practiced in daily life. That means building an organization where it is safe for people to create visions, where inquiry and commitment to the truth are the norm, and where challenging the status quo is expected—especially when the status quo includes obscuring aspects of current reality that people seek to avoid.

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The core leadership strategy is simple: be a model. Commit yourself to your own personal mastery. Talking about personal mastery may open people’s minds somewhat, but actions always speak louder than words. There’s nothing more powerful you can do to encourage others in their quest for personal mastery than to be serious in your own quest. And keep reminding yourself, in the words of MIT Sloan School professor Edgard Schein, that organizations are by their nature “coercive systems.”

This had me thinking about QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, a book which preaches the importance of personal accountability and how, especially in an organizational setting, I ought to focus on myself and model the behavior I want to see.

These days, one big roadblock to personal mastery–perhaps the nature of the structure I find myself stuck in–is the lack of time taken to reflect and properly face current reality. I’ve been guilty of defaulting to routines, and when I do have a free moment, I’m usually putting my mind on autopilot through podcasts, audiobooks, and television. The few moments of meditating and journalling just aren’t substantial enough. I think this is an opportunity to develop a habit that places a premium on time spent separate from my immediate work and focused on exploring the many ways I can better define my vision and propelling myself towards that vision.

Supplemental questions / thoughts

In thinking about personal mastery, these questions are worth considering.

How can individuals practically apply the principles of personal mastery in their daily life?

Incorporating personal mastery into our everyday life is really about making a conscious effort to live in line with what truly matters to us. For me, this means taking some time each day to think about what I’m aiming for (can be family, business, personal hobbies, etc.) and where I stand in relation to those goals. It’s about getting into the habit of jotting down my thoughts, pausing to breathe and really notice the world around me, and asking for honest feedback from people I trust. This helps me see challenges as chances to learn and grow instead of just roadblocks.

What are common challenges or obstacles people face when trying to achieve personal mastery, and how can they overcome them?

The journey towards personal mastery is fraught with challenges, including resistance to change, difficulty in maintaining discipline, and the discomfort of confronting uncomfortable truths about oneself. Overcoming these obstacles requires persistence, support from a community or network that shares similar values, and the willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone. It’s crucial to recognize that setbacks are part of the learning process and to approach them with curiosity rather than judgment.

Can personal mastery impact one’s professional life, and if so, how?

Bringing personal mastery into the workplace has made a big difference for me. It’s not just about doing a better job but about feeling more connected to what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I’ve noticed that I’m more resilient, I can lead with more confidence, and I find more joy in my work. By making sure my personal goals and my work are aligned, I’ve been able to not just achieve more but also bring a better version of myself to the table, making the workplace better for everyone around me. This way, my career growth feels like it’s part of a bigger picture, making my work more meaningful.