Attention and Presence

For my 4th post on the LEAD WITH PURPOSE program, I discuss the core qualities of a conscious leader. How does your organization invest in developing the next generation of leaders?

Attention and Presence

I often get asked to explain conscious leadership. Last month I was in Washington DC for the Global Good Fund Annual Summit. At the session in which we, the leadership development consultants, introduced ourselves to each other I began by summarizing my work with entrepreneurs and managers who need help building high performance teams. I continued by saying that I transform teams by creating conscious leaders.

In previous blog posts I’ve discussed purpose, motivation, emotional intelligence, deep listening and communication mastery. This post focuses on self-awareness as a core leadership competency. During this month’s Bay Area Organizational Development (BAODN) meeting, panelists were asked to share which skills were most important in developing the leadership capacity of Millennials. Persistent answers that struck a chord with me were introspection, getting out of your comfort zone, and self-awareness. These are the bedrock of a conscious leader.

Sometimes I call this mindful leadership. One of my teachers defines mindfulness simply as synchronizing awareness with perception. What we think and perceive can become habitual and rigid. Habits usually have some payoff – they make us feel comfortable, safe, or confident. They give Ego a leg to stand on. Of course we all need a healthy ego to protect us from harm and to get us through day-to-day activities, but ego can outgrow its usefulness. For example, if motivating co-workers looks and feels more like bullying rather than leadership, the ability of all parties to access internal resources and self-reflection is a valuable capacity. The mindful leader synchronizes her internal state and external conditions through a witnessing awareness.

I work with clients to cultivate mindfulness in two ways, practicing self-awareness and observing the relational space between yourself and others. Trust and collaboration are the team rewards for approaching work as a conscious leader.

Step 1. Notice what you’re noticing.

Where is your attention right now? “Notice what you’re noticing” is a mantra for the beginner (or master) practicing mindfulness. It introduces us to the role of the witness. The path of self-awareness asks that we each become a witness to our own experience.

Have you ever suffered from a conversation that went badly – running the argument again and again in your head, wishing you had been better prepared to respond? Pay attention to your habitual thinking. Allow your thinking mind the space to do what it needs to do. Allow the thoughts passing through your mind to leave, unattached to your sense of right and wrong. Nonjudgmental awareness provides information. It also opens the mind and heart to curiosity, an inherently positive state that gives us energy. From this place, your suffering subsides and new possibilities for expression become available. Step 1 is a practice for liberating you from thinking that creates personal suffering. Yes, it takes practice.

Step 2. Presencing

Step 2 is a practice that opens the relational space between two people. If I’m able to manage my own state, then I can begin to relate to others in a way that serves my needs and attends to what others want. I become accountable for the communication and trust I create with other people. Presencing provides deep listening for an emergent voice, true genius, and makes it part of personal and team relationships.

To be honest, Step 2 isn’t really a step, it’s an immensely intricate exploration of emotions and reactions fueled by fear and resistance. That internal voice of judgment, which keeps us safe and in control, also disconnects us from others. In developing the capacity to listen actively, be vulnerable and speak with empathy, many uncomfortable, avoid-at-all-cost feelings can be expected to show their angry, scared, and disembodied faces. I put myself into practice groups as often as I can to expand my capacity to show up in relationship with an open mind and welcome the present moment. Try leaning into the tension of being curious and nonjudgmental of the other as you give yourself enough compassion to forge ahead alongside fear, and welcome new, perhaps unexpected connections with others.

“The love you crave lies within momentary experiences of connection.”  ~Barbara Fredrickson, PhD

There is an upside to the work of presencing. Psychological research shows that even small doses of human connection have lasting benefits for our physical and mental health.

At the UCLA School of Medicine, Steve Cole, PhD has conducted years of scientific research to see the impact of connection on immune system function. In studying the effect of separating offspring from their mothers, or a person’s isolation that comes with acute disease, he discovered conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA), which is characterized by increased expression of genes involved in inflammation and decreased expression of genes involved in antiviral responses. Connection and belonging have been shown to down-regulate CTRA responses. In other words our health is rewarded for connection and penalized for isolation.

I think we’ll continue to see the trend of developing conscious leaders of all ages. The speed of changing customer demands, and the corresponding design and communication tools we adopt to be flexible and responsive are part of what makes an organization ready to succeed. In the future of work where teams are self-managing, conscious leadership is for everyone. The highest performing organizations will invest in the human skills of their people with coaching, dedicated team facilitators and continuous alignment with an inspired vision that encourages people to think creatively and increase their capacity to design and manifest what is truly needed.

How work gets done matters. Developing leadership with purpose, communication and social connection goes beyond engagement, performance and happiness at work. It creates a culture that its members want to preserve and make better. Register here to get updates or request a strategy session and discover how the Lead with Purpose program might assist you and your team.

pw@peterwolff.com