Sua Sponte

I know it's not exactly along the same lines as adult development and movement from the socialized mindset to a self-authored one, but when reading about the Interpersonal Dimension and Research on Self Authoring in our reading this week one of the notes I made was about a motto that my unit in the military followed. Sua Sponte. 

Sua Sponte is Latin. Loosely translated to "of their own accord." 

The reading states: "Based on the first two years of data from this project, many college students rely on external authorities for meaning-making, but there is a gradual decrease in authority dependence during this time" (Hoare, 2011, p. 119). It was in this area that I wrote: "just like Sua Sponte in the Army." 

Sua Sponte was used in our unit to help our soldiers think on their own and react without waiting for orders. The idea behind Sua Sponte was that we should do what is the right thing to do without waiting for orders to do it. We didn't want soldiers to be shot at and wonder, "should I shoot back?" Instead, the standing order behind Sua Sponte was "if it's right to shoot back, do it, don't wait for the orders."

The reading also states "research on self-evolution suggests that although there is a movement toward internal definition and increases in developing internal authority during college, many students have not achieved self-authorship by graduation" (Hoare, 2011, p. 119). The majority of the soldiers in our unit were college-aged. Sua Sponte, I have come to realize this was our unit's way of forcing them to move through the development toward self-authorship. As stated in the text "self-authored individuals have the interpersonal capacities to be genuinely interdependent; this requires the ability to understand and show respect for others' perspectives (and where they come from). To be interdependent requires one to acknowledge differences without being threatened by them, to be willing to try and negotiate differences in the service of mutuality or of a greater good, and to resist pressures to serve either oneself or others rather than both" (Hoare, 2011, p. 118). What more could our unit have wanted from our leaders and aspiring leaders than to have the ability to think through problems in a more self-authored way, see multiple perspectives and understand why they are there. Sua Sponte served more than just as a battlefield standing order to think for oneself, it was a way of setting the stage for further leadership development for the entire unit. 

I use Sua Sponte now with my own managers to help them make their own decisions independent of my thoughts, the thoughts of others, or because they're doing what is expected. In some cases that might be the best scale by which to judge decisions, but in many others, their own thoughts, ideas, and perspectives are needed and I let Sua Sponte know that that's what I expect of them. Sua Sponte may not encompass everything that might help someone move from a socialized perspective to a self-authored one, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. 

Reference:

Hoare, C. (2011). The oxford handbook of reciprocal adult development and learning (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.