Conscious Leadership in the Workplace

A Guidebook to Making a Difference One Person at a Time

Rosalie Chamberlain

• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781630476724
• eBook ISBN: 9781630476731
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

Conscious Leadership in the Workplace is a guidebook for individuals and leaders to lead more effectively and to support and create dynamic, successful, and inclusive environments, by taking a deeper dive into the importance of addressing individual unconscious bias. Unconscious bias can impact the diversity of the workforce and the success of an organization in a global marketplace. Conscious Leadership in the Workplace gives helpful tips for leaders to consider how they currently lead, address their unconscious biases and behaviors, and transform their leadership to effectively lead themselves and others.

CHAPTER 1

WHO ARE YOU
AND WHAT IS THE MESSAGE
YOU ARE BROADCASTING?

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

—John Quincy Adams

Leadership

In some form, we are all leaders. Whether we lead others or lead ourselves; whether it is in our work environment, our community or personal life, leadership goes beyond a job title. We can own this state of being, all the time.

We tend not to think this way as a general rule. Most of the time, we defer to external criteria to define leadership. These criteria can include a position in a company or in the community; a checklist of technical objectives; or a group of people being led. We often see leaders as presidents and executives, people with specific industry or skill qualifications, degrees or certificates. We might consider ourselves leaders if we manage a team of people, either at work, in a volunteer position, or within our families. These are external criteria: leadership has been conferred on us or others through outside means.

Is that what leadership really is? An outside-directed force, a category we can be placed into? There is something significant missing from this model of leadership, and what is missing is “us.”

What about internal criteria? What qualities does a conscious leader have? Here are a few that I see in my work with individuals who successfully lead:

• Appreciative of diversity

• Accessible / Approachable

• Beliefs are congruent with actions

• Clear

• Collaborative

• Compassionate

• Continual learners

• Courageous

• Curious

• Dependable

• Emotionally intelligent

• Empowering

• Focused

• Grateful

• Have integrity

• Have positive energy

• Honest

• Humility

• Inclusive

• Intuitive

• Intentional

• Learn from unintended outcomes

• Motivated

• Motivating

• Non-judgmental

• Open-minded

• Purposeful

• Self-aware

• Visionaries

• Willing to be vulnerable

Notice that these characteristics are things which leaders are, not what they do.

Forbes put together a list as well. In 2012, they published their top 10 leadership qualities.² These include honesty, an ability to delegate, communication skills, a sense of humor, confidence, commitment, a positive attitude, creativity (in decision-making), intuition, and an ability to inspire others.

All of us can learn to embody these internal qualities. All of us can learn to become thoughtful, conscious leaders.

Broadcasting and Self-Awareness

As individuals we have an innate need and desire to grow, to continually better ourselves. In the business world and in our personal lives we have a desire to develop and to be successful. Let’s explore the idea that consciousness and leadership begin at the individual level. After all, every team, every family, every organization is made up of individuals. Higher levels of success and achievement begin when each and every person takes responsibility for their own growth.

If I take ownership and responsibility for my own growth, that means I need to ask myself:

• Am I clear about what I want and are my actions congruent with my values and goals?

• Do I learn from every outcome, whether I planned for it or not?

• What is my intention and do I communicate it well, and am I moving forward with intent and commitment?

• Do I understand the impact of my intention and actions?

These questions bring us to the heart of the process of conscious leadership, and creating success for ourselves and others: the process of self-awareness.

Leadership and learning are
indispensable to each other.

—John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Here’s the deal: whether or not you are aware of the answers to these questions yourself, those around you are aware of you; we broadcast this information about ourselves every day. The quality of our leadership shows up in the messages we broadcast. It is imperative that we know ourselves.

One leader I know, Robert believes that effective leadership cannot be an on-the-surface type. What does this mean? I interpret this to mean that the leader and the organization cannot put forth a type of window dressing, the kind of “front” that gets someone in the door; but then, the actual quality of the merchandise or leadership, such as meaningful work, accessibility, development and approachability are not what was advertised. “You have to say what you mean and mean what you say.” And here, it goes both ways. Whether you are a leader in the organization or the new employee looking for the best place to grow and develop your career – say what you mean and mean what you say. It is a commitment on each party’s part.

How do we find out what we broadcast, and whether we are disseminating what is best for us, for our success and the success of others? Several chapters in this book will come back to this key point: We learn what we broadcast when we stop and take a look at ourselves.

Consciousness is paying attention. Most of us have something we want to achieve, at work, at play, at home, in ourselves, or in our communities. We need to pay attention to find out what that is exactly, and how to get there. We cannot know where we want to go or who we want to be if we do not know who we are first. For this reason, this book will involve a lot of self-examination. This may be a less than comfortable process for some, but will reap powerful benefits.

In my business of helping organizations become more inclusive with the diversity of their workforce and helping individuals have success in their lives and careers, I am convinced that individual responsibility and consciousness are at the root of getting the life, career and organization you want. Nobody else can do this for us, just each one of us taking responsibility for ourselves and our actions. The common thread is, how do you show up? The following questions will help you gain a better understanding of yourself and where you are now in the process of your leadership:

• Who are you?

• What do you have to offer?

• What holds you back?

• How do you contribute to the constructive movement for change and how do you block it?

If we as individuals let go of our fears about self and others, shifts occur and inclusion can take place. Organizations will attract and retain employees that are diverse and multi-talented and individuals will shine and exhibit peak performance. We are often the number one obstacle in the path to our own goals.

Leadership comes with the responsibility of self-awareness. Not only must we be aware of our team and our organization’s purpose, but we must also be aware of how we share what we do and how we are to the world around us. When leaders are in their consciousness and giving freely, they are inspiring others and serving as role models for growth. The signal is: I am here, I am present, let’s work together toward excellence. Conscious leaders are willing to be vulnerable (more on that later) and step back, evaluate and adjust or clarify when their message does not get across; because their ultimate goal is to create, engage and collaborate. It is difficult for a team to disengage from a leader who is present in this capacity. What is being broadcast enables honest response. When leaders are defensive and afraid, their teams can be defensive and fearful as well.

Individuals within organizations have to navigate corporate culture and often take their cues from the individuals around them. Effective leaders have to lead and set the tone for that culture and that team. Both have to take charge and determine how to do this. It is an individual responsibility. Each of us needs to see where we are living up to our values and where we are sabotaging our achievement to reach our goals. Instead of looking around, let’s look inside.

Now, if living a more conscious and authentic life is not something you are intent on focusing on at this time, this book may not be for you. Yet you picked it up; something drew you to do so. Perhaps you feel you are not achieving the levels of success that are possible. Perhaps you’ve tried other avenues to achieve your goals and found them unsatisfactory or incomplete. Perhaps you are merely curious. In working through these pages, you may discover something about yourself, who you want to be and who you really are and how you can take steps toward greater leadership.

In my experience, conscious awareness is a powerful catalyst for change, and for success. Don’t worry, if we do not have a strong sense of conscious awareness, we can create it. That is what this book is about. How do I get where I want to go? What steps can I take that will effect real change? I want to reiterate that the journey into creating consciousness, while it may seem simple, is not always easy to do. If undertaken honestly, this journey may, in fact, be a challenging process. The rewards, though, are generous. Zen practice has a saying, “Every step of the journey is the journey.” Each step along the way provides immense growth and peace if pursued with diligence and intention.

Beginning the Path to Self-Awareness

The best way to become self-aware and tune into what we are broadcasting is to consider a number of questions. Answers to these questions may not appear overnight. As the underlying reasons behind many of our feelings, beliefs, and associations become conscious and we begin to see what could be stopping us, we may discover a myriad of other questions that can lea...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Who are You and What is the Message You are Broadcasting?
• Chapter 2 The Element of Fear
• Chapter 3 The Unconscious and Understanding Bias
• Chapter 4 Know Your Triggers
• Chapter 5 Duality
• Chapter 6 Leave the Ego at the Door
• Chapter 7 Stop the Blame Game
• Chapter 8 Claim Your Authentic Power
• Chapter 9 Confidently Lead Yourself and Others
• About the Author
• Appendix: Exercises
• Notes
• References
• Resources