Ask yourself - as a leader, are you coming from a place of fear and uncertainty? Do you look for fault and blame in others, cling to an opinion and fixed worldview, and believe in scarcity over abundance?
Or are you open to outside interpretations, curious about the world around you, and committed to learning more about yourself and those around you?
In other words, are you leading below or above the line?
That’s the topic of this week's Brand Builder, as we explore the concepts contained in The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a fantastic read and a book that can help you become the leader your brand needs to level-up.
On the show is Diana Chapman, one of the book’s co-authors and a founding partner at Conscious Leadership Group. Diana has coached more than 1,000 organizational leaders and many of their teams, is a TEDx speaker, and has given keynotes everywhere from the Mindful Leadership Summit, to the Stanford Graduate School of Business and UC Berkeley Haas School of Business - and a lot more.
To say that this book has had a huge influence on the culture and leadership style at SnackNation is a major understatement. We apply the precepts within it as we all strive to get better every day.
In this episode, Diana explains both how to practice conscious leadership and why it’s so important, both to our businesses and our lives.
While we absolutely recommend reading the book, here's a quick rundown of the 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership that Diana discusses.
Commitment 1 - Radical Responsibility
The idea with this first commitment is to locate the “cause and control” inside us, not in external events. This means we stop believing that the world should be a particular way, and instead believe that the world just shows up. In the second part of this process, we move from rigid, closed mindedness to curiosity, learning and wonder (something that naturally occurs if the first shift happens.) But most of all, radical responsibility is not about being right! Letting go of the need to be right is something all top tier leaders do.Commitment 2 - Learning through Curiosity
Conscious leaders are passionately committed to knowing themselves (the basis of curiosity) and allow themselves to wonder. Success here depends on approaching people with an unreasonable benefit of the doubt, especially those you manage. Be truly curious in what they say.Commitment 3 - Feeling All Feelings
So many leaders stay in their head and don’t access their guts or hearts enough. To be an effective leader, you need to acknowledge all your feelings. Emotions are just energy in motion. They’re neither good nor bad - they just are. The key is learning how to deal with your emotions and process them. Every feeling we experience is a way for us to grow and improve in awareness.Commitment 4 - Speaking Candidly
According to the book, the team that “sees reality the best wins.” So many people are scared to speak candidly, but when they do that they’re robbing themselves and other people from the natural flow of energy, from what really needs to be said.Commitment 5 - Eliminating Gossip
Gossip is defined as anything said with harmful intent, that you wouldn’t say in front of the other person. While gossip is a manifestation of our species’ desire for deep social bonds, it no longer serves us, especially in business. Here we break down why we gossip, and discuss strategies for reversing and avoiding our tendency to engage in this destructive behavior.Commitment 6 - Practicing Integrity
Remember that integrity has nothing to do with being right or wrong, it’s all about being whole. (The root of integrity is integer, after all.) We discuss the importance of not blocking the natural flow of energy, and the Four Pillars that help us maintain our integrity.Commitment 7 - Generating Appreciation
For this commitment, we talk about what it means to give people the unreasonable benefit of the doubt and why leaders need first and foremost to pay attention. Additionally, we dive into the various reasons why people don’t accept appreciation, and what masterful appreciation really looks like.Commitment 8 - Express Your Zone of Genius
This commitment is all about finding that one thing that you do well and love to do. Similar to concepts like "unique ability" and flow state, your "zone of genius" is the area where you make the most valuable, creative contribution.Commitment 9 - Remember to Play
Contrary to what most of us are taught earl in life, work doesn't have to be nothing but stress, misery, and toil. Play, laughter, and improvisation are vital to being productive and fulfilled. (Besides, what good is life without a little bit of laughter?)Commitment 10 - Consider the Opposite of Your "Story"
We all have a "story" - it's the way we see the world, the assumptions we take with us when we approach problems. The idea here is to consider that the opposite of your story is as true or truer than your own.Commitment 11 - Be Your Own Approval
Commit to being your own source of approval, rather than relying on it from others.Commitment 12 - Recognize You Have Enough
How many times have you caught yourself saying "if only I had enough time. Enough money. Enough support. Enough space. Enough energy." This commitment reminds us that this imagined state of "enough" is never going to happen, and asks us to be satisfied in what we have now - and get stared solving problems!Commitment 13 - See People as Allies
Whether or not you consider someone an ally or obstacle is largely a matter of choice. So which would you rather have, enemies or allies? Choose allies.Commitment 14 - Win for All
Recognize that life is not a zero-sum game and commit to creating win-for-all outcomes.Commitment 15 - Be the Resolution
Finally, the most important commitment - be the resolution the world needs. Stop being content with apathy and recognize problems as opportunities to step up and become the solution.To see more of what the 15 Commitments look like in action, check out the Conscious Leadership Group.
Links
Conscious Leadership Group Connect with Diana on LinkedIn The 15 Commitments of Conscious LeadershipJoin our Exclusive Facebook Group!
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Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.
