Chapter 3
A Construction Metaphor
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| A young JJ in the back of Dad's truck next to his chainsaw getting wood up the mountain near our home in Monticello, Utah. |
While I did not end up pursuing a career in construction, architecture, or engineering, my interest in certain principles and processes pursuant to these subjects is alive and well to this day.
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| Nature's wonders, including the famous Delicate Arch in Utah, were the closest things to a skyscraper that I grew up near. |
Growing up in a tiny rural community in the middle of the sparsely inhabited, mountainous deserts of the Four Corners area of the United States, skyscrapers were nowhere to be found—unless you consider mammoth rock formations (e.g. Shiprock, Agathla Peak, Delicate Arch, Natural Bridges, etc.) to be skyscrapers. Perhaps this geographic isolation from urban areas further fueled my fervor to eventually visit what were, for me, elusive cityscapes—an ambition I vigorously pursued as a young adult adult.
Over the years, I've had the extraordinary opportunity to visit nearly every metropolitan area in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. From the magnificent dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London to the cavernous city centers of Lower and Midtown Manhattan; from the unique urban sprawls of Chicago and Toronto to the endless beach condominium towers of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties in Florida; and from the spectacular southern skylines of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Miami, to the wondrous West Coast cityscapes of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver, I have been continually entranced with and thrilled by such sights.
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| With my kids in Dubai, UAE. January 2025 |
What a marvelous time to be alive!
This lifelong interest in construction and skyscrapers led me to design the SAL Model using high-rise construction as a metaphor. Just as there are certain physical laws, principles, and practices of architecture and engineering that apply to the sound construction of building, bridges, dams, and homes, there are likewise certain metaphysical laws, principles, and practices of Self-Action Leadership that govern Existential Growth and successful long-term living.
The SAL Model provides YOU and me with the incredible opportunity to envision, design, engineer, and then build your own life and/or career. What could be more exciting and engaging than developing and then directing your own destiny?
SAR and SAL Projects
What is Self-Action Research, or SAR?
Simply stated, SAR is action research applied by, to, and for YOURSELF.
As you may recall from BOOK the THIRD, Chapter 2, action research (AR) refers to: A four-step cyclical process of identifying and strategically solving problems. By way of review, action research also involves "four core processes." (1)
These four processes include:
Process 1: PLANNING Deciding how to deal with a problem.
Process 2: ACTING Implementing your plan.
Process 3: OBSERVING Paying attention and recording what is happening.
Process 4: REFLECTING Analyzing outcomes and revising plans for another cycle of acting. (2)
Self-Action Research, or SAR, is the application of action research to the self. It is directly related to SAL and is defined as: action research applied by, to, and for the self to gain self-awareness, aid self-improvement, and solve personal problems.
ACTION RESEARCH
Action research applied by, to, and for the self to gain self-awareness,
aid self-improvement, and solve personal problems.
The purpose of Self-Action Research is to strategically apply SAL principles in an effort to achieve specific, targeted objectives related to your own character development and personal growth. Self-action leaders can do this by engaging in a SAR project, which is defined as: A self-led research experiment or project aimed at increasing self-awareness, aiding self-improvement, and solving personal problems.
SAR Project
A self-led research experiment or project aimed at increasing self-awareness, aiding
self-improvement, solving personal problems, and bolstering Existential Growth.
Like any action research project or initiative, the goal of SAR is to learn, improve, and grow by strategically applying the four (4) core processes of AR to the self. A SAR Project is similar to a SAL Project, which is defined as: A self-led personal initiative aimed at achieving long-term objectives in the domain of Existential Growth for self and others.
SAL Project
A self-led personal initiative aimed at achieving long-term objectives
in the domain of Existential Growth for self and others.
These definitions are similar in their substance and desired ends. There are, however, important distinctions between the two. In the 2017 academic journal article introducing the SAL Model in the Journal of Leadership and Management, my colleagues and I clarified the difference between SAR and SAL Projects thusly:
"In a sense, SAR projects are conceptually indistinct from SAL projects because in both cases, the end goal is always to do what is right in the pursuit of long-term existential growth for oneself and others. The main differentiating factor between the two involves time frames. For example, SAR projects primarily deal with micro issues and goals that can often be addressed and completed (or solved) in relatively short periods of time (e.g., days, weeks, and months). SAL projects, on the other hand, deal primarily with macro issues that usually take much longer periods of time to address and complete, or solve (e.g., years, decades, or more). As such, SAR projects are more akin to short- and mid-term goals, while SAL projects focus on longer-term goals in support of one's personal and professional statements of vision and mission. SAR projects, therefore, serve as smaller, piecemeal initiatives within a context of much larger SAL endeavors. (3)
Another way of conceptualizing these terms is to view YOUR LIFE as one grand SAL Project that can then be filled with a variety of SAR Projects that facilitate your ongoing quest for Existential Growth (4). Or, you might view life as being filled with a few (or several) overarching and extremely important SAL Projects, each one of which is then broken down into a variety of smaller SAR Projects that collectively serve as the engine driving your long-term progress upwards into the higher levels of the SAL Hierarchy.
The SAL Model incorporates the four (4) core processes of action research into four (4) analogous stages of SAL-oriented action. These stages—and their 23 sub-stages (or step-habits)—of SAL are likened to the stages of building a skyscraper. They form a practicum aimed at helping you develop the character and habits that lead to Existential Growth. Thus, the SAL Model is defined as: A comprehensive academic model of Self-Action Leadership and character development rooted in action research theory and construction science and metaphor.
SAL Model
A comprehensive academic model of Self-Action Leadership and character development
rooted in action research theory and construction science and metaphor.
Self-Action Leadership MODEL
FOUR (4) Stages and TWENTY-THREE (23) Sub-Stages (or Step Habits) of
Construction and Self-Action Leadership
Construction Process
STAGE 1: Pre-Construction
Step-Habit 1: Gathering Information
Step Habit 2: Consultation
Step Habit 3: Acquiring and allotting financial resources
Step Habit 4: Obtaining approvals and permits
Step Habit 5: Planning and scheduling
Step Habit 6: Assembling a cohesive team and crew
Step Habit 7: Drafting blueprints
STAGE 2: Building the Foundation
Step-Habit 1: Conducting geological surveys
Step Habit 2: Drilling down to bedrock
Step Habit 3: Anchoring concrete/steel piles to bedrock
Step Habit 4: Pouring a steel-reinforced concrete slab
Step Habit 5: Earthquake proofing
STAGE 3: Building the Superstructure
Step-Habit 1: Punctually showing up to the work site
Step Habit 2: Concrete, steel, wood, glass, brick, mortar, and drywall
Step Habit 3: Plumbing, wiring, and insulation
Step Habit 4: Carpeting, painting, and interior
Step Habit 5: Landscaping
STAGE 4: Maintenance and Upgrades
Step-Habit 1: Security
Step Habit 2: Structural reviews, safety checks, and quality controls
Step Habit 3: Maintenance
Step Habit 4: Blueprints review
Step Habit 5: Inventory and change recommendations
Step Habit 6: Replacements, renovations, and upgrades
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Self-Action Leadership Process
STAGE 1: Planning & Preparation
Step-Habit 1: Self-education
Step Habit 2: Build relationships
Step Habit 3: Self-awareness
Step Habit 4: Self-organization
Step Habit 5: Self-recording
Step Habit 6: Self-oneness
Step Habit 7: Self-constitution
STAGE 2: Developing an Integrity-Based Character
Step-Habit 1: Honesty
Step Habit 2: Humility
Step Habit 3: Reverence
Step Habit 4: Rectification
Step Habit 5: Service
STAGE 3: Taking Action
Step-Habit 1: Self-discipline
Step Habit 2: Self-action in public
Step Habit 3: Self-action in private
Step Habit 4: World altering strategies*
Step Habit 5: Self- and natural rewards*
STAGE 4: Observation, Analysis, and Change
Step-Habit 1: Self-observation*
Step Habit 2: Self-analysis
Step Habit 3: Self-renewal
Step Habit 4: Purpose examination*
Step Habit 5: External feedback
Step Habit 6: Self-alterations
*See Footnote 5
The remainder of BOOK the FIFTH will explain in detail what each of these four (4) stages and 23 step-habits entail.
If you are ready to dive in and begin studying the nitty gritty of the SAL Model...
Then keep reading!
- What personal or professional challenges are you presently facing that might make a good Self-Action Research (SAR) Project within a larger Self-Action Leadership (SAL) initiative or objective?
- What do you want your own skyscraper (LIFE) to look like two, five, ten, twenty, or fifty years from now?
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 428th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 236th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 427 FF Blog Articles
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Click HERE to access the FULL TEXT of Dr. JJ's Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection
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Chapter 3 Notes
1. Kuhne, G. W., & Quigley, B. A. (1997). Understanding and Using Action Research in Practice Settings. In A. B. Quigley & G. W. Kuhne (Eds.), Creating Practical Knowledge Through Action Research: Posing problems, Solving Problems, and Improving Daily Practice (Vol. 73, pp. 23-40). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Page 25.
2. Ibid.
3. Jensen, Beaulieu, and Neck (2018). “The Self-Action Leadership Model: A Qualitative, Nomological Expansion of Self-Leadership Theory Rooted in Action Research.” Journal of Leadership and Management. 11(2018). Pgs. 10-30. ISSN: 2391-6087. Page 17.
4. An outstanding example of a venerable self-action leader who dedicated his life to Self-Action Research is Mohandas Gandhi. He wrote about his many SAR projects, or his “Experiments with Truth,” in an autobiography—a book I highly recommend to all self-action leaders.
5. Neck C.P., and Manz, C.M. (2010). Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering Yourself for Personal Excellence (Fifth Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Pages 15, 17, 19, 21, 27, 38.
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