Leading with NLP

6 Leading with NLP

Thought Experiment 1

How do you think of ‘leadership’? What comes into

your mind? Try it now.

What are the qualities of your mental picture?

Is it still or moving?

How far away does it appear to be?

Is it in colour or black and white?

Are you in the picture?

How do you feel about your picture?

‘Leadership’ an abstract noun and for many people

the word conjures up a still picture, a frieze of troops on

the battlefield or sometimes a symbol.

Now think of ‘leading’.

What comes into your mind?

What are the qualities of your mental picture now?

How are they different?

How do you feel about this picture?

‘Leading’ is a verb and that means action, movement.

Your mental pictures can spring to life.

When you think about ‘leadership’, remember the

reality behind the word – leaders act. They move to-

wards something. They excite action; they transform

people and change how they think. Leadership as an

abstract noun languishes as a theoretical concept with

no life or movement – interesting, but kept safely at

arm’s length like a museum exhibit.^2

Think of a leader. Who comes to mind? A military leader

like the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon, Winston

Churchill or General Schwartzkopf? A political leader like

Tony Blair, President Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher or Bill

Clinton? Or a religious leader like Christ, Mohammed