A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success
Be a better leader and live a more fulfilling life by becoming more conscious.
Have you ever had a boss who refused to listen to you, continued to do things the same way, repeatedly made the same mistakes, oblivious to all the beautiful ideas that may help the firm grow and enhance leadership? Unfortunately, unaware leaders are persistent.
Although this type of leadership can be beneficial in the short run, it only leads to short-term progress in business or personally.
As these summaries demonstrate, conscious leaders, on the other hand, are entirely present and dedicated, listening intently to people around them rather than viewing their colleagues as competitors or, worse, enemies. But what else have they committed to? This summary will show you.
In this brief, you will learn.
Why is being a hero only sometimes a good thing?
Really conscious leaders welcome emotion and
How mimicking your mother might improve the company atmosphere.
1. There are two types of leaders: conscious and unconscious.
Many leaders believe themselves successful, even if their workplace is challenging or they need solid personal relationships. Success, however, does not have to come at the expense of actual fulfillment; you can achieve both success and personal happiness if you live a mindful life.
One can live and lead in either of two ways: consciously or subconsciously.
Unconscious leaders need to adapt better to changes in their surroundings. They cling to old models and routines even when ineffective, so they always see themselves as victims of circumstance. They believe that their prosperity and personal pleasure are caused by external forces.
Conscious leaders, on the other hand, excel at being present in the moment. They learn from their experiences and understand that they can improve their circumstances.
Don't conceive of conscious leadership as a level you've reached. It is truly a state of mind that you can purposefully enter anytime.
How?
Always be honest with yourself and your current situation. Living unconsciously may sound terrible, yet it is the norm for most individuals. If you're happy, there's nothing wrong with living unconsciously; nevertheless, if you want to be a leader who generates creative energy in the workplace and establishes solid relationships, you must be honest about where you are. After all, you must deliberate to live a life of conscious leadership.
You can strive to be a conscious leader by implementing the 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership.
Unlike common misconceptions, commitments are not promises for the future. These are assertions regarding your current world. When you understand your dedication, you can determine whether you're a conscious or unconscious leader.
2. Conscious leaders accept complete accountability for themselves.
The first two of the 15 commitments form the basis of conscious leadership.
The first commitment is accepting full responsibility for all aspects of your life. When things are unplanned, unconscious leaders attempt to shift the responsibility to something or someone else. To prevent acting this way, take yourself responsible for whatever you do.
For example, if quarterly results are lower than expected, an unconscious CEO would seek to assign blame. They would perceive themselves as the victim, hero, or villain, depending on their personality.
Victims blame their troubles on the world's inequities; villains point the finger at someone or something else, and heroes attempt to shoulder more than their fair share of the blame. All three are equally harmful to the group: victims lack the motivation to alter anything, villains lose control of the situation, and heroes overwork themselves till they burn out.
Conscious leaders, on the other hand, are determined to accept full responsibility for themselves - neither more nor less. They recognize that their acts have consequences and don't rush to blame others.
The second commitment of conscious leadership is to learn by being curious rather than attempting to prove a position. When things go wrong, unconscious leaders fail to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Instead, they become defensive and doggedly insist that they are correct, even when it is clear they are not.
Conscious leaders understand that every experience, good or terrible, is a learning opportunity. They are realistic about their opinions; they know they aren't always correct and are ready to learn new things. Rather than seeking someone to blame, they seek a lesson to learn.
3. Conscious leaders are willing to embrace and learn from their emotions.
Conscious leaders are excellent learners. They are students of both themselves and their surroundings. They also understand how to learn for themselves by investigating their own emotions.
That is why the third commitment of mindful leaders is to avoid resisting or recycling emotions.
There is little room for emotion in the workplace. People are taught to think with only their heads. That is especially true for leaders: unaware leaders believe that feelings and emotions distract them from their work, so they suppress them.
We repress our emotions in various ways, and all understand how they feel. Consider the last time you felt uncomfortable at work but didn't say anything about it.
Another way unconscious leaders avoid dealing with their sentiments is by recycling them: they become trapped in a cycle in which they feed their emotions with beliefs that reinforce them, much like a jealous person seeking evidence that their lover is cheating on them. This causes you to become trapped in a never-ending cycle of negative emotions.
Conscious leaders, on the other hand, are dedicated to developing vital emotional intelligence. They understand that sentiments are a source of wisdom.
Anger, for example, indicates that something isn't right; some aspect of the whole has to be rectified. Sadness is your body's way of reminding you to let go. Joy indicates that things are going well, and you should celebrate!
That is why conscious leaders do not avoid their emotions. They understand that emotions are effective instruments for learning and bringing people together to conquer obstacles. They embrace and enjoy their emotions as they are.
4. Conscious leaders speak openly and honestly.
The following two commitments to conscious leadership are all about communication.
The fourth obligation is to always speak and listen attentively. It is critical to maintain a realistic viewpoint, which is only possible to accomplish. To gain a complete picture, you must examine diverse points of view, including listening to what others have to say.
However, it's crucial to remember that people frequently suppress facts for reasons other than malice, such as fear or embarrassment. This is problematic because when you suppress your emotions, you risk criticizing people for the issues you're uncomfortable discussing with them.
For example, if you're irritated with a friend because they canceled an appointment and you don't tell them, you'll probably just back off and wait for them to apologize. When you retreat like this, you will see your friend through your own judgmental lens. You'll regard them as someone who has disrespected you and believe they are generally disrespectful.
Conscious listening is equally crucial. Leaders typically do not entirely listen to others; instead, they filter their statements through their minds, adding their own meaning to them.
For example, if an employee expresses a concern about a coworker and their unconscious leader has an avoid-conflict filter, the leader will look for signs that the employee has good intentions. Conversely, conscious leaders pay attention to what the other person is saying.
The fifth principle of conscious leadership is to avoid gossip. It's crucial to be truthful but also to share the truth at the right moment and with the right people. Gossip is prevalent in office culture, and while it is broadly accepted, it is incredibly harmful. It discourages employees from developing trust and limits their creative potential.
Gossip harms everyone involved: the gossiper, the listener, and the person being gossiped about. Everyone in the office should endeavor to reduce gossip. Feel free to openly discuss the matter with your employees.
5. Conscious leaders demonstrate integrity and appreciation for the essential people.
The sixth commitment of conscious leadership, living a life of integrity, is inextricably linked with the others.
Leaders must have integrity because when they make mistakes, their teams suffer. If a leader is dishonest or untrustworthy, the entire firm suffers.
A person has integrity when they are completely whole. That implies they accept full responsibility for their acts, communicate truthfully, and express their emotions openly.
The third aspect of integrity is maintaining your promise. Breaking even the tiniest commitment, such as failing to buy juice when you promised, can severely disrupt the group's energy flow.
So, while making a promise or interacting with someone, be specific about your conditions so they understand what to expect. Ensure you follow through on any agreements you've made at least 90% of the time, and negotiate when you absolutely can't. If you have to break your word, apologize to the person by asking if you can do anything to make things right.
The eighth commitment of conscious leadership is to be more grateful. When you express your appreciation for your staff, for example, you assist them in developing self-esteem and, as a result, mutual respect. It allows you to see them from a different perspective because you'll constantly remind yourself of why you love them in the first place.
Appreciating others is similar to wine tasting: an experienced wine aficionado is considerably more adept at discerning between subtle flavors. Similarly, an experienced appreciator is much better at recognizing and valuing people's distinctive qualities! A person who has never considered wine cannot identify the difference between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. So, think about what makes your employees unique. It will only allow you to see (or taste) more.
6. Conscious leaders invest as much time as possible in their zone of genius.
The eighth obligation of conscious leadership is to show your brilliance as much as possible while still having fun!
Most people work and operate within one of three zones: ineptitude, competence, or excellence.
You're in the zone of incompetence when you're doing something you're bad at and don't like. In the zone of competence, you're good at your job, but it's not gratifying.
When you can accomplish a work well but do not particularly love it, you are in the zone of excellence. You might create a fantastic job, but you're no longer creative.
We tend to stick to these zones because we unintentionally limit ourselves. Have you ever given up on something because you believed you were never good enough? Feelings like that keep you down.
If you want to be a conscious leader, you must devote as much time as possible to your zone of brilliance. That means doing what you enjoy and are skilled at - jobs that seem like something other than work!
This is consistent with the eighth commitment of conscious leadership, which is to play rather than struggle. Because conscious leaders devote so much time to their zone of genius, they naturally work more playfully and enjoyably. That is not to say they do not work hard; instead, they are committed to working more creatively and relaxedly.
There are always ways to balance work and recreation. That's why Hopelab Inc.'s CFO, Dan Cawley, once delivered the quarterly financials in his mother's Irish accent! Not only did he provide a humorous aspect, but he also got people's attention!
7. For mindful leaders, life is abundant.
The following three commitments reveal how mindful leaders achieve inner serenity and satisfaction.
The tenth commitment is to be open to different interpretations than your own. Most of our misery stems from our desire to improve a negative situation. However, conscious leaders understand that events are never extraordinary or unpleasant; they are simply the labels we give them.
That is why conscious leaders seek alternative interpretations of their ideas and surroundings. Jim Barnett, the creator of Turn Inc., struggled with this when he realized he no longer wanted to work in the company but believed that stepping down as CEO would be irresponsible.
The writers helped him realize that leaving his position would be a highly responsible option because it would allow the position to go to someone more passionate about it.
The eleventh commitment of conscious leadership is to find internal security, control, and approval rather than seeking it from outside sources.
Almost every hope, aim or desire you've ever had revolved around wanting approval, control, or security. It's natural to enjoy those things, but pursuing them indefinitely is harmful. Conscious leaders understand how to value the acceptance, power, and security they possess.
The eleventh commitment of conscious leadership is acknowledging that you have plenty of everything. And it's not just your worldly possessions that are numerous; remember that you also have abundant time, money, and love.
Most individuals believe that all resources are scarce. However, conscious leaders appreciate what they have, allowing them to live in the present moment.
8. Conscious leaders are constantly learning and seeking new answers to the problems around them.
The final three commitments of conscious leadership are about communication with individuals and the larger world.
The thirteenth commitment of conscious leadership is to see everyone and everything as an opportunity for personal improvement.
Unconscious leaders convince themselves that other people or situations impede them from achieving their goals. Conscious leaders, on the other hand, understand that almost everything they experience in life helps them grow in some manner.
For example, an unconscious leader may perceive a strike as an impediment to attaining his targets. In contrast, a conscious leader sees it as an opportunity to improve his or her work environment.
The fourteenth commitment of conscious leadership is creating environments where everyone benefits. Unconscious leaders believe that competition and compromise are the only methods to solve problems; conscious leaders know this is not true.
Consider what the authors did when they wanted to become more invested in The Conscious Leadership Group, but their colleague Kaley preferred to spend more time at home with her newborn daughter. Instead of compromising, they carefully discussed the matter and devised a new solution that worked well for everyone: terminating the relationship on a positive note.
That is why the ultimate goal of conscious leaders is to become the answer to the world's issues. Conscious leaders see things in terms of abundance thus, they do not regard world issues as the result of a lack of anything. When something is missing, they see it as more space for other things. They can decide to be the answer to the problems they observe.
Final Summary
Conscious leadership is the key to living a successful life professionally and at home. So, always learn about yourself, your environment, and the people around you. Be open to new ideas, accept responsibility for yourself, and appreciate what you have. A mindful leader benefits everyone: you, those around you, and the world.
Actionable advice: Trick your brain into always being cheerful.
Whenever you have a terrific experience, such as obtaining a promotion or going on a fun date, do something mundane afterward, such as doing the dishes! You'll mislead yourself into believing that happiness and success are usual, and as a result, you'll feel happier.