Leadership in Gorean Men

Article - Leadership in Gorean Men

Preface: This is an attempt to think about perspectives and move as a community from allowing pride to interfere with the proper evaluation of valid paths. This is article intends to convey a thought about how to interact and process information as opposed to offering any specific views. While there may be examples offered, they are going to be examples which offer the greatest insight to an approach and do not necessarily offer my specific beliefs.

I believe strongly that the Gorean Philosophy leans toward a righteous expression of self for people. I do not think that this is limited to those who have read books and act the part. I believe it is a path which many have not been exposed to, or not been well received when they have questions and this leads to the shunning from our community, or others giving up the interest.

This article looks to help offer a path of expression and reception of others which lends itself to a better filter for identifying those who will offer something to this community and take something of value away from the Gorean Philosophy. First I think it is relevant to offer an example of what I see commonly:

Given:

Bob is a farmer who only knows of fruits and vegetables as a source of food. He does not comprehend that animals are a source of food, and that they are merely beasts of resource which you can train for tasks.
Henry is a hunter who only knows of animals as a source of food. He has never seen a human being eat any form of plant in order to sustain life. He has never seen a human being eat a berry, fruit, or vegetable.

Example Scenario:

Bob and Henry meet up, and Henry removes his bow from across his neck, and places it on a stump introducing himself to Bob. Bob asks what the object is called, and Henry replies that it is a bow. Henry is proud of his ability to make a bow and lifts it firing an arrow into a bale of hay so that Bob can witness the speed and accuracy the arrow flies at. Henry then states that he could make the same quality of bow for Bob with ease as a sentiment of goodness. Bob then nods approvingly realizing Henry was looking for some form of acceptance and explains they he would have no use of it.

Henry disagrees after hearing the remark about not having use for the item Henry values most and then replies that he thinks Bob is crazy. He explains the qualities of the bow again and lets him know that Bob is not in a place obviously to evaluate since he didn't even understand what the bow was.

Bob agrees and says that is precisely why he was rejecting the offer as it doesn't seem
like something that he would even use wisely. Henry agrees frustrated with the ignorance and they part ways.

This is the scenario I see that we take often. We know the value we have of what we offer in conversation, and our beliefs. We do not ask or comprehend the position of our audience and fail to offer the insight of purpose, function, and intent to use. We are a society outside of the Gorean community and as much or more within that is geared toward explaining the whats. We expect the gaps in the why to be self-evident for our audience and that any lack of understanding is an incapability to understand.

I have had the pleasure of being in a position for many years of leadership. I have refined my ability to lead based on what I come to know of people in general. As men of this community if we want to lead, we need to be prepared to speak on the whys and not simply the whats behind our convictions. You can not motivate by the whats unless you have a person who already understands the vision and direction and has submitted to taking your leadership.

As men lead this community, it is then our responsibility to lead it with increasing effectiveness through a better skillset for communication next year than we have had in the previous. Consistently growing in our ability to function as leaders.

What I am not suggesting is that we need to spend an inordinate amount of time pushing or begging someone to listen. We need to simply increase our aptitude for judgment by increasing our ability to convey thought with passion.

As a man, I strive to see the world as it comes to me, and then as I see it for what it is, I filter it through the beliefs and knowledge I have already acquired. I often intend to be capable of answering a few standard questions before I begin evaluating. I often fail like the rest of us. However, this is the path I have chosen to take as righteous.

The questions I look to ask are few but important:

1. Can I reiterate what was said to me back in my own words and it mean what the other person was attempting to say.

Why: Because this assures me that I am not misunderstanding the point they are conveying. If I do not understand what a person is attempting to say I can not possible be in a good play to evaluate.

2. Do I understand the intent, motivation, or goal of what is being told to me?

Why: Because I can not possibly evaluate what is being said with a high degree of accuracy if I do not understand the intended function of the information being present.

3. Do I understand a rough idea of the experience or aptitude for thought of the person before me on the topic being discussed?

Why: This helps me to frame things like judgment into a more purposeful position in my reply. If someone is simply

inexperiened I do not need to break down solidified patterns of thought, as much as offer information. It is important though for me to evaluate the information being presented on the merits of the information and not the thoughts I have on the person speaking.

The purpose of this question has to remain as a basic

understanding on the depth and conviction the person may have to their position.

By limiting my questions to these I am able to keep myself from whirlwind paralyzed in conversation because I am constantly trying to remove my bias. I do not need to accept or tolerate the views of anyone. However, there are times when I need to sit and listen to the perspectives of my audience, and make sure I am able to answer those three questions before I evaluate their position. The third is actually optional, but I like to understand a person as I said before I look to offer guidance (if that is necessary).

We can not be a community of mentorship and leadership without the traits of leadership.
Understanding another person's perspective is only a waste of time if you intent to shovel a view down someone's throat until they comprehend or go away. This is not the Gorean community I was introduced to, nor do I believe it to be the righteous expression of Gorean men. I merely ask of all of us to be better tomorrow than we are today in our leadership of Gorean Philosophy.

I love you all,

~Thalin