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Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0361, Sept 23, 2008 |
Dear Friends, |
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This week’s article is about conscious leadership, written by FacilitatorU community member Gail Gibson, PhD. Gail is the author of the book "Be Coached to Success"
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Neerja
Site Manager, FacilitatorU.com
The Point |
Conscious leadership
Bringing out the juice
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Intervention Skill |
As coaches, wouldn’t you like to excite the leaders you work with enough to do something differently - to shift from triage or management to real leadering?
The leading edge best practice in organizations today is a commitment to CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP – it is the most natural way to truly inspire employee engagement – the heart of performance, productivity and morale. Employee engagement, the most sought after organizational need these days, is a function of the way an organization is led and the way that leadership is translated into daily management practices. Everyone has the potential to be a leader – unfortunately, not everyone chooses to be one. Being a leader is not the same as doing leadership. Who you are is how you lead – it’s that simple, and conscious leadership is a choice.
Individuals who have a deep understanding of themselves are able to show up authentically in their life with no need for projecting their fears or doubts onto others. They waste no energy trying to be anyone other than themselves. They know what to do to get the job done while developing the potential of others. Their behaviours are an honest demonstration of their values, of who they are. Their very “beingness” inspires others to great action. These are the “conscious leaders.”
“Those who dream of a brighter, more inspiring and compassionate future for humanity realize that organizations – especially business entities – are the most powerful institutions on the planet because they possess an unmatched opportunity to change the world.”
Lance Secretan
If we acknowledge this powerful influence held by corporations, then it would follow that business is where the healing is most needed today. As leadership drives organizations, this is where the shift in consciousness first needs to take place. Therefore coaching has a significant role in shaping the path of leadership. The most effective and successful leaders lead from the inside out and coaches can be great catalysts for creating this shift in consciousness for leaders.
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Application |
As a coach, you partner with leaders to be their mirror, to shine their best self back to them so they are able to capture, appreciate and build upon their strengths. You support leaders to shift their thinking, try new behaviours and to stretch their limits. As De Witt Jones says, “it is not trespassing to go beyond your own boundaries.” Addressing the consciousness of the leader evokes the fastest, most effective way to realize true personal and professional transformation.
What new skills are required of coaches in this new consciousness paradigm to serve and support leaders?
Listen for the essence of the leader
Assist leaders in leading themselves first … so that others are inspired to follow
Help them get back into the driver’s seat of their own lives – help them connect with their own inner resources – remind them of their spiritual essence
Remind people of their own magnificence – you must see it in them – continue to bring people back to their own magnificence, reminding them of who they really are and what they are capable of as co-creators - this requires an ongoing awareness of returning, remembering, and integrating who they truly are into their daily lives. Assist your clients to think big, to dream bigger dreams
Hold space for the belief that every living being is already whole and complete whether they realize it or not. Nobody needs fixing, changing or rearranging. Nothing is broken even though clients may sometimes feel that they are. As coaches, it is not our job to fix, change or control others. People are connected to their own inner source of wisdom and energy even when they forget that they are! We do not attempt to replace the inner source of another person. We understand and accept that everyone is unfolding perfectly in their own time and in their own way. It is our work to assist clients in maintaining a connection to
their authentic self
Always delight in, acknowledge and celebrate successes and progress
Remember that while tools and techniques can be a valuable support for leadership effectiveness, bringing consciousness and the authentic self to the daily practice of leadership will create the kind of true transformation that we all seek in the workplace. The most important “tool” is full leadership presence in every choice and behaviour, moment to moment
“Stand alone skills are not enough for great leadership. What is more important is how we are being, choosing our attitudes, and having an extraordinary commitment to personal responsibility is what contributes to a truly transformational effect on the people and culture of our organizations”. Penny Ferguson
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Action |
As a coach, you must claim the energy for yourself that you want to share with others, in fact, you must coach yourself in order to coach others. It is important to maintain your own vibrancy and to raise your own vibration and vitality as a coach so that you can be a transmitter of this energy and way of being. Be a model in all ways. When we tend to our own inner happiness and fulfillment we become a beacon of light for others. This requires knowing yourself and showing up authentically, an aligned presence yourself. As stated by Joan C. King, “Recognizing the basis of our greatness and that of our clients transforms coaching … and thus we realign with the purpose of all existence – to be
expansive and creative – and bring our clients into enhanced awareness of their own greatness.”
Getting there is not easy, you’ve got to do the work! However, the rewards are incredible as your work as a catalyst will assist in bringing this consciousness to leaders, and therefore to organizations and the world. You can be a presence that shifts business as usual into business that matters. Are you willing to do the work that is required?
How do you know that you are ready to bring your deepest gifts to the world – to create your own deepest fulfillment and make the greatest contribution to others?
According to Peri Enkin of Creator’s Choice, you:
Stop caring what other people think about you
Be fully responsible for and manage what is running through your system (thoughts and emotions)
Know that your full self expression serves and supports others
Trust that what comes through you is the right expression and of value
You have run out of energy for doing anything else
Please send us your questions and comments.
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