Mindful Conscious Leadership

What is Mindful Conscious Leadership?

What does it take to be a mindful, conscious leader?

It's an important question because most organisations today are crying out for more of them.

Conscious Leadership is both a philosophical and a deeply practical approach to leadership that's fuelled by the aspiration to be a force for good:

Within your business, within your teams, for all individuals and stakeholders, and, dare I say it, for humanity and the world. There, I said it.

But of course, folks don't just wake up one day and magically become mindful, conscious leaders.

It's a developmental journey, and it's one that any of us can embark on.

And while there are many practical things that we can, and probably should learn along the way to support us,

i.e. leadership tools, techniques, frameworks, systems...

The difference that really makes the difference to the impact that we have as leaders isn't so much what we know, but more the quality with how we show up and the intentions that sit behind our choices and our interactions.

Now in my 18 years as a leadership development coach and trainer, I found that it really boils down to three practices that form what I call the A.R.C. of Mindful Conscious Leadership.

They are the practice of awareness, the practice of responsiveness, and the practice of compassion.

And you're probably picking up on the emphasis I'm putting on the word practice.

Obviously, there's a lot that goes into each of these, but here's the top level.

The practice of awareness is about developing your ability to be fully present in the moment, while non-judgmentally observing whatever's going on within you and around you in an unobscured, non-distorted way.

In other words, it's about having the wherewithal to be an attentive leader who sees things clearly.

And the primary way that we practice growing this awareness is through the application of mindfulness.

Now, the practice of responsiveness is about strengthening your ability to respond rather than react.

And it's also about knowing how to respond using real discernment and skilful means.

Part of this means getting very familiar with your own automatic reactive tendencies (because we've all got them).

Recognising when, where and how they typically show up in your leadership and then widening the gap between stimulus and response, having a regulated nervous system so that you can think, act and communicate in ways that encourage more favourable outcomes to emerge.

And it's also about learning those practical, time tested strategies that guide you through the process of responding skilfully in various leadership situations and contexts.

And then the practice of compassion is about cultivating a deep, empathetic understanding of people, coupled with the desire to be a genuine benefit to all those in the orbit of your leadership Which, by the way, includes you.

Now, far from being the soft and fluffy platitude it can sometimes be perceived as, compassion is one of the most important, yet under emphasised, leadership qualities.

But the great news is that it really is a learnable skill.

Now, these three practices, awareness, responsiveness, and compassion, don't sit in isolation of each other.

In fact, it's the interplay between them that causes the important characteristics of mindful conscious leadership to emerge.

When awareness is met with responsiveness, that's what we call demonstrating wisdom.

Seeing reality clearly and responding appropriately.

Awareness and compassion together fosters humility, where we move beyond our own individual egos, and humanity where we recognise that we're all connected by this common human condition.

And we identify what it is that people truly need from our leadership in order for them to flourish.

And when compassion is met with responsiveness, that leads to caring action.

Where we take the practical steps to ensure that the well being of the business and the well being of people are taken care of in equal measure.

If you're interested in how you, your teams, and your business can master the A.R.C. Of Mindful Conscious Leadership, reach out to me directly, and I'll be delighted to chat with you about how I can support with coaching, workshops, and structured learning journeys.