On this USA Independence Day, I want to wish all of us independence from ourselves!
In his classic book, The Inner Game of Tennis, Tim Gallwey describes a conversation he was having with himself. Startled, he wondered who are the two people involved in this conversation? He identified two selves and named them, rather uninspiringly Self 1 or the “teller” and Self 2 or the “doer.” I think Logical Self and Somatic Self are a bit more descriptive. The Logical Self is the conscious, processing component that can step back, judge, criticize, advise, and set the direction/vision for where to go. The Somatic Self is the one who actually does the work. In Gallwey’s case, it is the entity that actually swings the racket.
Both have important jobs to do. Problems arise when the Logical self can start to take over the role of the Somatic Self. It’s like micromanaging, but in your own body. As a former collegiate athlete, I totally get that. Once I started trying to think my way into my movements, I got slow, awkward, and clunky. As Galway puts it, “Self 1 does not trust Self 2, even though it embodies all the potential you have developed up to that moment and is far more competent to control the muscle system than Self 1.”.
Independence from judgement for personal growth
What boggles my mind is that I don’t think Gallwey was writing metaphorically when he wrote this book. I do feel, however, that he tapped into a universal principal that can be applied to all sorts of scenarios. It clearly resonates with some of the messages that Brené Brown and Carol S. Dweck give us about perfectionism and shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. I’ve written before about how my inner perfectionist gets in the way of getting things done. I’ve been afraid to start something knowing that I won’t be perfect right away. That’s totally the Logical Self judging and protecting me.
Independence from judgement for business growth
Leaders set the vision but get in trouble if they try to micromanage the execution. I know that is true for me! Gallwey couldn’t get more relevant to me as a leader when he writes, “As long as Self 1 is either too ignorant or too proud to acknowledge the capabilities of Self 2, true self-confidence will be hard to come by. It is Self 1’s mistrust of Self 2 which causes both the interference called “trying too hard” and that of too much self-instruction.” I have seen this happen at an institutional and team level. We’ve all seen micromanaging, lack of delegation, and lack of trust kill a team.
I’ve more than once felt stifled by a boss or, way worse, stifled a direct report for fear that they would make a mistake. It is an embarrassing claim. Of course they are going to make mistakes! We all do. Mistakes are part of growth. But in the heat of the moment, it is easy to forget that. Gallwey, in his book about tennis, states “Letting go of judgments, the art of creating images, and ‘letting it happen’ are three of the basic skills involved in the Inner Game.” How he wasn’t writing directly to the leaders of the world, I don’t know, but it certainly resonates. Setting a vision for where we are going and letting the team figure it out is while being there to support them, is key to a good business leadership.
Message to future John
Keep working on your ability to step back in non-judgmental awareness. Accept that there are multiple roles at play (in our bodies, families, teams, etc.). Finding the strength to trust and accept these roles is key to success on and off the court!
Thanks to Ryan Searle for the beautiful photo of the tennis court.