Self-Action Research & Existential Growth

In my last post, I explained that Self-Action Leadership differs from just plain self-leadership in that Self-Action Leadership must contribute to the long-term well being of self and others.

In making this contrast, I described how evil people like Adolf Hitler could be described as effective self-leaders in the short run.  These people could never be described as effective Self-Action Leaders because their actions are destructive in the long run.

According to my dissertation, Self-Action Leadership is:

The strategic, lifelong practice of Self-Action Research aimed at maximizing one’s Self-Leadership Efficacy for the purpose of contributing to the long-term well being of self and others (JJensen Dissertation, Vol. 1).  

Self-Action Research is action research conducted by and applied to the self.  What then, is action research?  It is a method of identifying and solving problems.  It has four steps, or stages: 1) Planning & Preparation, 2) Taking Action, 3) Observation, and 4) Analysis.

Self-Action Research, then, is action research applied by and to the self to gain self-awareness, aid self-improvement, and solve personal problems.

The goal of Self-Action Leadership is to continually practice the four-step process of Self-Action Research for the purpose of achieving higher levels of Existential Growth.  According to the Self-Action Leadership Theory, there are eight levels of Existential Growth.  (Click HERE to see my book that introduces the Self-Action Leadership Theory).

Click HERE to download a copy of the Self-Action Leadership Theory as recently introduced in the Journal of Leadership & Management.     

1). Education Stage

2). Beginner’s Stage

3). Practitioner’s Stage

4). Refining Stage

5). Polishing Stage

6). Actualization Stage

7). Leadership Stage

8). Self-Transcendence

The goal of Self-Action Leadership is to practice the four steps of Self-Action Research in an effort to eventually reach the highest level of Existential Growth.

To assist self-action leaders in this process of rising steadily in their Existential Growth, I have developed the SAL Model.  This Model is based on a construction metaphor.  It utilizes the four steps used in Action Research and, by extension, Self-Action Research.  This process mirrors the same basic steps used in project management.  

Project Management Cycle ~ Building a Skyscraper (click to enlarge)

Self-Action Leadership Model ~ Building a Successful Life (click to enlarge)

In his poem entitled, The Builders, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote that, "All are architects of fate."  The Self-Action Leadership Theory and Model is designed to provide a template for the construction of your life in the same way that principles of architecture and engineering are used to construct a building.  As you learn the principles of the Theory and Model, you equip yourself with an increased capacity to successfully navigate the challenges of your life and take advantage of the opportunities that will help you to realize your potential.

"Build to-day, then, strong and sure,

With a firm and ample base ;

And ascending and secure

Shall to-morrow find its place." 

(Longfellow, The Day is Done, reprinted from The Poetical Works of Longfellow.

Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press (1912, p. 186).

Over the weekend, my wife, son, and I traveled to San Antonio, Texas. I was one of the authors invited to speak at a conference sponsored by OCD Texas, an affiliate of the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF).  In my next post, I will share some of the lessons and highlights from this unique, educational experience.