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The Plight of the Homoclite

The struggle is real.  You want to be an average person.  Yet, mental health remains hidden in the normalcy of your life.  You are afraid people will think your abnormal or even broken if you discuss changes regarding your mental status.  Let me assure you.  No human has a static mental health status.  We are all constantly moving toward mania or depression.  It is the fluctuations of the human mental health cycle that push in one direction or another.

In his 2011 book, Nassir Ghaemi describes the homoclite as an average person concerning mental disease.  You are most likely a homoclite.  His thesis connects historical leaders during times of crisis with some form of mental disorder.  Mental illness helped famous leaders accomplish results mere homoclites may not have been able to do.  In other words, crazy people thrive during moments of crisis.

Now let’s apply this thinking to leadership.  Brene Brown’s groundbreaking work on vulnerability as a leader has taken contemporary business by storm.  She contends vulnerability precedes trust.  This reality is counter to popular belief.  In the past, most people considered trusting a prerequisite for vulnerability.   When it comes to our mental struggles, is vulnerability acceptable?  Can we admit we are vacillating mentally?  I mean, who wants to work with a crazy person?

Stigmas and orthodoxy are changing.  Coaches and therapists (professionally or individually) are more common today.  When I started business coaching almost twenty years ago, it was often hidden from public view.  Most people felt ashamed of needing a coach.  Today, it is trendier to talk about your therapist or coach.

If we apply Ghaemi’s thesis to business, can we say...

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