12 Powers

Overview
The Twelve Powers are an organization of spiritual strengths that can be enhanced by a connection with the Source. All humans inherently have these powers but use of them in the realm of sense consciousness may distort their power for selfish gain. Using them from a higher level of consciousness enhances personal well-being and can raise the collective consciousness of groups in which we may participate.

The Twelve Powers as discussed here are a Unity New Thought formulation presented by Charles Fillmore. However, they have similarities to collections of 12 in other traditions such as the 12 Chakras and the Kabala 12 Steps. For Unity, the 12 Powers are linked directly with the Christian tradition through metaphysical interpretation of the 12 disciples in the New Testament. Each disciple represents one of the 12 Powers in a metaphorical sense.

The 12 Powers can also be viewed as leadership traits. Books such as John C. Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and other leadership books and studies frequently describe some number of traits of leadership. Most of these can be mapped into one of the 12 Powers. Since I have recently read a few leadership books, I will relate each Power to leadership traits, roles and psychological profiles. This will help connect the dots from the more abstract 12 Powers presentation to other more concrete formulations.

Other systems that I will reference as each Power is described include a system of organizational theory (Adizes 4 primary roles of an organization as defined in “the Ideal Executive” (PAEI)) and a psychological system (Riso/Hudson’s “Personality Types” that are based on the 9 types of the Enneagram, a tool for self-discovery).

One thing that is interesting to note is the way that the 12 Powers delineate between the higher consciousness expression of a Power and the lower sense consciousness expression. Sense consciousness expression can result in holding things back and creating problems in the manifest world, whereas higher consciousness expressions create positive results and advance environments forward. The same is true of the organizational and psychological systems I will reference.

The Enneagram describes levels of development within a personality type that range from super functional (Level 1) to completely dysfunctional (Level 9). The further one progresses up the levels of development toward Level 1 the less selfish, more self-actualizing a personality becomes. The further down the levels toward Level 9 the more selfish, more self-destructive the personality types become. The Adizes Organizational Roles Theory supports the same notion as shown below:

• Producer (positive, functional) vs. Lone Wolf (negative, dysfunctional)
• Administrator (positive, functional) vs. Bureaucrat (negative, dysfunctional)
• Entrepreneur (positive, functional) vs. Arsonist (negative, dysfunctional)
• Integrator (positive, functional) vs. Super Follower (negative, dysfunctional)

12 Powers
Love
Love functions to harmonize, unify and attract. In personal relationships, this creates an environment of peace and good feeling in relationships. In leadership this power manifests in a leader’s ability to truly care about the people being led so that they take the time to understand individual stories, hopes and dreams.

In Adizes leadership roles, this Power is best reflected in the Type I (Integrator). In the Enneagram this power is best reflected in Type 2 (The Helper) for empathy and Type 9 (The Peacemaker) for coordination and conflict resolution. Maxwell’s Leadership Laws touch on this through the Law of Connection where leaders that can touch emotions have more success than leaders who cannot.

Imagination
Imagination provides the ability to image, conceptualize and envision. Leadership requires imagination to create a vision of the future for an organization or team. In the Adizes system this Power is best represented by the Type E (Entrepreneur). In the Enneagram, this Power might best be represented by Type 5 (The Investigator) or Type 4 (The Individualist).

Power
Power provides the ability to master, dominate and control. In the Adizes system this Power is represented again by the Type E (Entrepreneur) or possibly the Type P (Producer). In the Enneagram, this Power is represented by Type 3 (The Motivator) and Type 8 (The Leader). Maxwell’s Law of Influence relates to this Power by insisting that the true measure of leadership is influence.

Judgment
Judgment is the ability to evaluate, discern, be wise and appraise. It includes wisdom and knowledge. This Power is reflected by the Adizes Type I (Integrator), who brings disparate organizational groups together and facilitates constructive conflict resolution. The Enneagram type that best represents this Power is Type 1 (The Reformer). At lower levels of functionality, Judgment can devolve into being Judgmental.

Understanding
Understanding is the ability to know and perceive. This is our intellectual faculty. In the Adizes world, this Power is best shown by Type E (Entrepreneur) and Type P (Producer). In the Enneagram, the closest personality type is Type 5 (The Investigator).

Zeal
Zeal is the ability to start, motivate, be passionate and be enthusiastic. In the Adizes world, this is typically the Type E (Entrepreneur) who is very passionate and excited about new ideas and possibilities and communicates enthusiasm to the people in the environment. The Enneagram personality is Type 7 (The Enthusiast) who is passionate about trying new things and experiences.

Elimination
Elimination is the ability to release, remove and denounce stale and non-useful behavior patterns in our lives. This Power relates to leadership in the sense that a leader must continually move forward and allow criticisms and failures to fade into the past and become part of experience that improves future endeavors. This is the power to move on and not be paralyzed by mistakes or misfortune.

Faith
Faith is the ability to believe and intuit. It is the ability to move forward and act as if it is impossible to fail. In John Maxwell’s 21 Leadership Laws, this Power relates to the Law of Victory, the Law of Intuition and the Law of Timing. Leaders find a way for the team to win and never give up.

Life
Life is the ability to energize, vitalize and enliven. It is expressed in Maxwell’s leadership laws as the Law of Empowerment, the Law of Magnetism and the Law of Connection. Leaders instill a sense of energy and urgency into the group.

Order
Order is the ability to organize sequence and adjust. In organizational theory this is represented first and foremost by a Type A (Administrator) and secondarily by Type I (Integrator). In terms of leadership laws this is represented by Maxwell’s Law of Priorities.

Will
Will is the ability to choose and decide. This Power keeps us from getting mired in analysis paralysis. After enough analysis, finally it is time to act and the Power of Will provides that for us. In organizational theory, the Type P (Producer) is the most closely connected with the Will to act. In Enneagram personality types, the Type 8 (The Leader) and Type 3 (The Motivator) are the most willful of the group.

Strength
Strength is the power to endure, stay the course, be persistent, persevere and be stable. It relates to Maxwell’s Law of Solid Ground for a leader to build trust as the foundation of leadership. A leader needs a rock solid foundation so that followers will respect and trust his positions.

Creation

Overview
The realm of Divine Ideas is created by the Source. As individuals we become aware of Divine ideas. We increase this awareness through meditation or other activities that promote the Silence. As the Divine Ideas come into our consciousness, they are colored by race consciousness input from the subconscious mind. Ultimately they express through our individuality and within a specific medium of expression such as art, science, music, business or any number of other forms of expression and action.

The receptive clarity of Divine Ideas exists along a spectrum from very clear to unclear. The closer we are to the Source, the more consistent the individual expression of the Idea is to the Ideal. Lasting works of art or world-changing scientific theories are produced from an extremely accurate perception and reception of the Divine Idea from Mind. The less true the reception and transmission of the Divine Idea, the less true the manifestation of the Divine Idea within a medium will be. A good analogy is that of a copy machine making less clear copies from subsequent copies as compared to making high quality and clear copies from the original.

I have experienced many examples of the Creation process during my lifetime. For the purposes of this paper I will pick 3: music, software design and management.

Music
Music has always been a serious hobby of mine. I studied formally through the age of about 26 and took a couple of degrees, one in classical piano and one in jazz piano. After I left graduate school I never pursued it as a career, but have always maintained some connection throughout my life, performing in church or in local clubs every now and then.

A watershed era for me was when I learned the basic theory and chord structures for jazz piano after having played classical piano most of my college career. I was fascinated by the idea that I could know the basic chord progression and melody of a jazz standard and get together with other musicians and create arrangements on the spot. Once I worked on this area for a year or so, I moved away from reading music and began to play more and more by ear.

Learning to play jazz piano was a very transformative experience for me. Before that time, playing piano had been about accurately playing the notes on the page and adding a very small amount of interpretation to what was written. Once I discovered improvisation, this expanded a thousand-fold and my experience of spontaneous creativity was born.

On many occasions, when playing with a group, the experience might be somewhat mechanical, just trying to lay down what needs to be laid down at the right time. Sometimes I am thinking very intellectually, consciously aware of the chords and melodies that should be outlined to sound “correct” for a particular style or song.

But every now and then, when it is least expected, possibly during a solo, inspiration will strike and it seems as if I am not actually playing the music myself. The music seems to create itself and I am being led along for the ride, completely in the flow and the moment. At these times there is no conscious intellectual thought. The experience is more holistic and pervasive throughout my body, soul and mind. As Miles Davis once said, “you have to let the music get up in your body” (paraphrased). I can only imagine that if my skill level was higher that I’d have these holistic experiences more often.

Software Design
For most of my career I have been involved in the design of software systems in one role or another. In the early days when I was a junior programmer there was so much to learn that I did not think of it as a truly creative activity, especially compared to music. It was just a job that made money so that I could play music when I wanted.

I remember that I worked closed with a guy who seemed to be a very creative problem solver. He’d encounter extremely challenging problems and would seem to come up with algorithms very quickly. When I worked with him, I always felt that I could not really crack the solution and that I had to depend on him to formulate the algorithm which I could then code into being.

However, one day we were trying to design a data structure together and he was stumped. Somehow, an idea came into my mind that seemed obvious to me. When I told him he was ecstatic and told me that was very good. We went on to refine a design based on my insight. From this point on I had the confidence and continued to hone my ability to open my mind to solutions to problems rather than try to brute force a solution or feel like I had no ideas.

I began to relish the idea of thinking through a complex software system and come up with abstract concepts, data structures, communication pathways and user experience scenarios that had a good look and feel and satisfied customer needs. Sometimes the mental state needed was one resembling meditation. I needed silence and the ability to put my mind into a neutral state while thinking about the system passively, allowing ideas to flow without judgment so that I could try out different designs mentally and on paper.

Management
Once I became older and experienced in the software industry, I had both the desire and the opportunity to begin to manage and lead teams of gradually increasing size. I began to lose interest in the technical and creative challenges of software design and became fascinated with the challenges of leadership and management of technical products and development.

This leadership and management realm is where I currently spend most of my time. The experiences and techniques I learned earlier in my life have carried forward to help me progress in leadership roles. However, there are many more facets and dimensions that come into play.
In particular I have noticed a progression in myself from a mechanical style to a much more relaxed style that depends much more on my intuition than technical skill that I relied on in the early days of my management career. I get ideas of inspiration that are related to timing, personalities, team cohesion, management methodologies and other aspects of my daily work that seem to have a connection to the whole and the ideal, filtered to the culture or situation at hand.

I have found meditative practices to be especially useful in improving my process of creation in the various skills and qualities required for leadership and management.