Conversations for Troubled Times
Leadership is shaped by threshold moments.
These are moments whose significance cannot be known in advance. Leaders must decide and commit themselves before they can know whether their actions will prove wise or unwise. The meaning of the decision emerges afterwards through its consequences.
A threshold moment may involve deciding whether to act or hold back, speak or remain silent, challenge or accommodate, preserve what exists or risk creating something new.
What makes such moments difficult is not simply a lack of information. Leaders may possess extensive knowledge and still not know what should be done. At threshold moments, the challenge is one of judgment, responsibility, commitment, and risk.
At such moments, worry is often not a sign of weakness. It may be the recognition that something important is at stake and that responsibility cannot be avoided.
The question is not simply, “What do I know?”
The question is, “What am I prepared to commit myself to when I cannot know the outcome in advance?”
This is why leadership is fundamentally a matter of practical wisdom.
Practical wisdom is the capacity to make sound judgments, in the right way, at the right time, when certainty is unavailable and responsibility cannot be avoided. It involves discernment, reflection, and the capacity to recognise what a situation may be calling for.
Yet practical wisdom does not end with reflection.
Threshold moments ultimately require commitment. Leaders often understand what may need to be done and still hesitate. They continue gathering information, seeking reassurance, waiting for greater certainty, or postponing action. But threshold moments cannot be crossed through analysis alone.
Practical wisdom culminates in resoluteness: the willingness to step into the unknown through decision and commitment.
Resoluteness is not certainty. It is not stubbornness. Nor is it blind determination.
It is the capacity to act thoughtfully without guarantees, to accept responsibility for one’s actions, and to move forward even when the outcome cannot be known in advance.
These small reflective leadership groups provide a confidential space for leaders to explore the lived challenges of leadership at threshold moments.
The programme consists of four 2-hour reflective group sessions and is offered on demand.
If you are interested in participating in a future group, please email steven@drstevensegal.com.au to register your interest or discuss suitability.
Themes
- Leadership judgment under pressure
- Working with uncertainty and ambiguity
- Difficult conversations and competing demands
- Organisational tensions and relational complexity
- Balancing decisiveness with reflection
- Remaining thoughtful under pressure
- Cultivating practical wisdom, discernment, courage, and judgment
Dr Steven Segal
Dr Steven Segal is a registered and practising Psychologist. He was appointed Associate Professor of Management at Macquarie University, Sydney where he taught psychology and philosophy in the context of management and leadership.
Dr Segal has conducted professional development workshops in a range of areas including leadership, education, psychology and psychotherapy. He brings a unique combination of psychology, philosophy, management education and leadership to enable professionals at all levels to develop their practice.
Themes which have driven his interest in psychology and philosophy include anxiety and depression. He has always been focused on the practical application of philosophy which gives him an additional and helpful lens in his practice as a psychologist. Utilising philosophy, he enables clients to gain insight into themselves and the social context in which they live. He has an action orientated view of philosophical reflection and believes that action and reflection form an ongoing cycle on the psychotherapeutic journey.
Dr Segal’s Masters and PhD focus on educational frameworks for working with anxiety and despair. His most recent research project focused on the challenging psychological experiences involved in management and leadership development.
He has published two books which both deal with anxiety and emotion in the context of management:
- Business Feel and Management Practice, and
- Creative Destruction: Existential Skills for Inquiring Managers, Researchers and Educators.
He has edited books including Face to Face with Management Practice and been the section editor of the Handbook on Managerial Philosophy. Dr Segal has published over 30 peer-reviewed scholarly articles in a range of disciplines including philosophy, psychology, and management.
Format
– 4 Reflective Group Sessions, 2 Hours Each
– Live Interaction + Q&A
– 6 to 8 Leaders Per Group
Dates: To Be Scheduled as per Demand
Times: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Program Schedule: Releasing soon