The Magic Triangle of Personal Growth

Working with senior leaders to help them maximise their potential, I focus on building on their strengths and leveraging their individual potential. The aim is to help leaders in becoming ‘the best version of themselves’. 

Therefore, rather than focusing solely on closing competency gaps or attempting to mould everyone to a standard template of a ‘Mr or Mrs Ideal’, I strive to shape growth agenda around individual endeavours, motivations and talents. 
  

 

The three elements of the triangle are:

SENSE OF PURPOSE  

FLOW, and

LEGACY.

 

 

It all begins with a deep reflection upon the leader’s sense of purpose. This is the essence of their intrinsic motivation, their ‘raison d’être’, which fires them to act relentlessly and determines both short- and long-term goals.  Sense of purpose is the inner compass, which provides the leader with a clear sense of direction.

This is the ‘why’ dimension of the growth triangle. For success must ensue as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.

The realization of the sense of purpose is enabled by the energy, which stems from individual flow. As described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, it is an optimal state of consciousness where an individual is completely immersed, energized, and focused on an activity, often called being "in the zone". It is characterized by intense concentration, the merging of action and awareness, loss of self-consciousness, and deep enjoyment. It is the enjoyment of dexterity. An obvious example is the feeling of enjoyment when you finally succeed in making soft, beautiful turns on your skis. You feel the perfection of the movement, and it fills you with joy and satisfaction. The same applies to any physical and mental activity. This is when work activities become pure pleasure and it becomes difficult to distinguish between work and play. 

The essence of personal growth is to enter into the zone by pursuing one’s sense of purpose. This happens by exploring one’s natural strengths and by perfectioning newly acquired skills. 

In practical terms, it means discovering and leveraging natural talents and learning to enjoy the thrill of getting out of the comfort zone to practice new abilities.

The ‘Flow’ dimension of the Growth Triangle is thus about the ‘what’ and the how’ of growth.

Finally, understanding one’s sense of purpose and discovering the flow in pursuing it requires one more dimension to make personal growth complete: answering the question about the legacy one wants to leave behind. It is about fulfilling the dream of immortality. It is about the strong need to leave something behind, something tangible, ideally big and significant. It is about lasting impact.

Legacy is answering the question about outcome. What for? What is the desired effect, which is to be achieved?

For example, my sense of purpose is to help leaders grow, and I therefore work on perfectioning the skills required to provide them with meaningful support. I experience enjoyment of my work and I love my job. Finally, I want my legacy to live through the people I have been able to help in their growth journey. Their enduring success will be my legacy.