How to be TrueFaced

I’m currently re-reading my way through TrueFaced, by Bruce McNicol, Bill Thrall and John Lynch. Bruce will be visiting Seattle for a Leadership Catalyst event and then staying with us at our home for a small dinner gathering. I guess it was fitting to go back through some of his book.

One thought I had is that it seems to compare to Keith Miller’s perspectives when he went through his “crisis” a few years back. What Truefaced calls masks, I think Keith called the “constructed personality.” Keith went to great lengths to explain how when we go through our development stage as adolescents, we “learn” aspects of performance to gain approval and esteem from others.

The irony is that because of this constructed personality we often can loose what we are really seeking: love, acceptance, intimacy and the success that comes with self-esteem. They are sacrificed and put in the prison of our souls.

As the spiritual disintegration process continues, we become less conscious of who we really are and what we really want. The constructed personality is really only good at emotional one night stands – being able to share reality only for an evening.

The key is in developing a process where we can break free of the construction and move into the reality of who we really are – and being good with that. Easy to say.

I find TrueFaced one of the better resources out there -- suitable for small groups and mentoring relationships that are pursuing being real with one another -- and creating a culture of trust.