What Happens After the Hero’s Journey

By Dr. Dehra A. Glueck, MD.

Has this ever happened to you? I recently had a one-hour meeting where the convener spent the first 45 minutes telling everyone how wonderful and connected and important he is in our community. I remember thinking: “Really?!? Because after all the time spent on your self-congratulatory rant, we’ve only got 15 minutes to get the real work done!” I left the meeting angry he had wasted the time and talent of the people who had shown up that day wanting to work for real change, only to find themselves stuck passively listening instead.

We all know our leaders have to develop to a point where they can own Stage 3. This journey has been told over and over as a mythic quest, where a hero goes through hardships only to come back with valuable insights that help them own their own power and defeat the enemy. But what happens when that’s not enough? What happens when we are surrounded by problems that cannot be solved in traditional Stage 3 cultures and certainly not by a singular hero? Ultimately, it is time to mobilize a tribe who that has already completed their hero’s journey and is now ready to tackle much bigger problems – together.

As Dave and I are working on the new book, we are discovering tribes who are being galvanized by what we are calling a “sacred restlessness.” These tribes have a powerful force within them that leaves them hungry for epic journeys and intolerant of anything that gets in their way. Sometimes the anger and discontent their restlessness evokes is frightening to other people, but if we look closer it is precisely this fierceness that will make them produce full spectrum solutions that cannot be ignored. Are you ready to be part of this tribe? Are you already a part of a restless Stage 4 tribe? If so, please add a comment.