Authentic Selflessness

Leadership begins before authority. It appears in what other people become able to say, attempt and learn around us.Authentic Selflessness explores the inner work that makes constructive influence possible: the need for approval, certainty, recognition and control; the protective self-talk that appears under pressure; and the small interval in which emotion, values, judgement and purpose can meet.Drawing on situations from work, family life, education, sport and community, Martin Harasek shows how self awareness can improve feedback, boundaries, delegation, conflict, repair and the development of others.Twenty-eight practical exercises and a thirty-day self-talk tracker help readers recognise recurring patterns, rehearse more useful inner language and test different behaviour in real situations.This is a book about becoming less governed by the need to protect the self, without erasing it.