Leadership Team
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Leadership and Peacemaking

We have seen throughout history and in our own lives the effects of misdirected leadership, or leadership with self-aggrandizement as a goal. Above all, leaders and peacemakers need to be serving the higher good; they need to have processes for cultivating self-knowledge and the ability to see beyond the boundaries of their personal limitations and biases.

Self-knowledge includes not only awareness of one's feelings and thoughts, but knowledge of one's particular cultural, political, and gender biases. That means self-knowledge regarding what motivates our actions, what we project onto others (both good and bad), and what our strengths and weaknesses are. It also means knowledge of our spiritual beliefs and how they might differ from other people's beliefs. Self-knowledge includes awareness of our values, ideals, joy, and creativity, in addition to our "hot" buttons where fear, anger, and sadness lie. Carl Jung wrote in his autobiography, Memories, Dreams and Reflections, "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." There are many paths to self-knowledge, but each one requires consistent practice.

Self-knowledge, however, is only one ingredient of leadership and peacemaking. When Edgar Cayce was asked in a reading how the questioner could prepare for leadership, his reply was: "By prayer and meditation. It is innate and natural, yet the basis of service must be as of the ideal; not merely idealistic for that indicates unattainable, but "be ye perfect, even as I am perfect' said He. This then is in purpose, in intent, in hope, in application. This is the manner to attain to leadership." Another leading thinker about the spiritual roots of leadership makes a parallel point. In his book. Servant Leadership, which has been a classic in the field since 1977, Robert K. Greenleaf presents the concept of a leader as first and foremost a servant: "The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions."

The qualities of peacemaking and leadership can be present in any mundane situation of life, not just the big decisions. Each time that we encounter an irritation or a conflict, we have a choice to make. We can either fan the flames and stimulate the conflict to grow intense, or we can actively seek the "message in the conflict" and work to find a peaceful and creative solution. Making the peaceful choice will not mean avoiding conflict, or avoiding strong and difficult emotions. Often making the peaceful choice will mean heading directly into the fray, in order to hear the message or messages inherent in the difficulty. That is a powerful kind of leadership that our world desperately needs.

To understand this process of peacemaking and leadership, however, it's important to examine the conflicts we bump into in daily life. They may at first seem to be exclusively a matter of things going wrong in the world around us, the outer world in disharmony. However, with even a small bit of self-examination we will discover the inner component of the conflict. And once that inner component is understood and resolved, then a leader can work to bring a peaceful resolution to an outer conflict.

Nowhere is this process of inner / outer peacemaking more evident than in our relationships. Each of us has a responsibility for the relationships in our lives, starting with our close friendships and moving out to our work, community, country, and global relationships. In that sense we are all leaders if we are willing to take on the role of peacemaker. And it's not easy to do because there are obstacles. For example, it's easy to forget the sanctity of each human being, and when we lose deep respect for each person's life, then peacemaking and authentic leadership disappear also. And so we must return frequently to the practices we have established to remind ourselves of that sanctity, and to clear our own emotions. Then we must step forward as we are called, to help bring peace and harmony into all situations.

The leader as peacemaker is able to see conflict as a positive force in the universe, the coming together of diversity and difference to potentially create something new. Conflict occurs where there is a need for a solution, a fresh, new solution, one that has never been seen before, and one that could not possibly arise as a result only of a one-sided view of life. Seen this way, nothing valuable happens if the conflict - remember, both inner and outer - is simply squelched or repressed. Then no wisdom, no revelation of the new, can come out of it Genuine leaders see how to deal with conflict in such a way that new information and understanding are allowed to emerge, and hence a magnificent new solution emerges.

In his book A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield writes of "stopping the war within." That means, first of all, to become aware of the war. In other words, if we pay attention, we can hear what each of the sides in the conflict is saying. But are we able to listen deeply to all sides, or are we quickly inclined to judge one over the other? Can we embrace the war without trying to help one side win over the other?

Perhaps even more challenging to the potential leader/ peacemaker is the emotional aspect. Can we accept the feelings that come with conflict - or, harder still for some people, can we accept the feelings of fear, sadness, or anger when the war is stopped? Can we embrace our feelings without the need to act on them, or to suppress and ignore them? Can we open our hearts and bring loving attention to the conflict, rather than being a harsh judge? Of course, all these challenging questions are equally relevant to inner or outer conflicts.

It is crucial that our society nurture and train leaders who can deal effectively with the above questions. In fact, for millennia there has been the problem of how to create a peaceful society. Often it sadly seems we are slipping backward. Nevertheless, there have been tremendous developments in social tools and structures for enhancing dialogue and cooperation. We have communications guidelines, such as Robert's Rules of Order, underlying meetings from church meetings to Congress. We have developed an impressive array of other tools, models, and social forms: mediation, arbitration, talking circles, reflective listening, conflict resolution, bully programs, relationship enhancement programs, intuitive listening, community building, cross-cultural programs, diversity trainings, the "partnership model" of Riane Eisler. We have educators and scholars like Ron Miller (founder in 1988 of the Holistic Education Review) who are at the forefront of educating our children for a culture of peace. As a person works consistently on his or her own inner peacemaking, there are at the same time many outer ways to apply the wisdom gained, to learn processes and tools, and to develop leadership. Wherever you are a leader, or whatever your interests, there are ways that you personally can contribute to peacemaking.

Atlantic University is offering a new series of courses and workshops dedicated to the development of both the inner and outer manifestations of Leadership and Peacemaking. In the Master's Program in Transpersonal Studies, there will be a series of courses which can be taken individually or as a sequence. In the non-credit program, there will be a series of one-day trainings for businesses and business leaders, which will explore the inner and outer challenges of leadership and conflict resolution. All courses in the Leadership and Peacemaker series will have a strong component of inner development as part of the curriculum. The courses will also teach practical skills, methods, and structures for creating cooperation and harmony.

Amy Betit, M.A.., had a career as a concert composer and conductor. At the age of 40, she was called to study psychology, and obtained a master's degree in clinical psychology. She serves as chair of the Atlantic University faculty and teaches several courses including "Introduction to Transpersonal Studies," and "Creating a Meaningful Life."

Mary Elizabeth Lynch, M.A., J.D., was trained in philosophy and law. She is a private practice attorney/mediator, and teaches courses for Atlantic University in mediation and peacemaking. She is the founder of A Better Alternative, a company that offers leadership and conflict resolution training and also provides mediation services.