In a recent post, I wrote about the recession’s impact on employee engagement levels. In the BusinessWeek article I cited, the question of focusing on employee engagement proactively during tough economic times was explored by leading experts. Those experts all agreed on one important point: Leadership matters. A lot! Leaders, consciously or unconsciously, significantly influence the culture created within the team and organization and the results achieved.
“…the climate—how people feel about working at a company—can account for 20-30% of business performance. Roughly 50-70% of how employees perceive their organization’s climate can be traced to the actions of one person: the leader. More than anyone else, the boss creates the conditions that directly determine people’s ability to work well.” Primal Leadership; Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee
What is it that people need to be able to “work well?” Practically every team building and leadership text written in the last decade agrees that people’s needs include:
- Feeling that their contributions are valued
- Recognition for their accomplishments
- Training and development / growth opportunities
- Adequate resources
- Clear expectations and challenging goals
- Involvement in decision-making
- Positive and collaborative climate
I’ll add one thing more: full authenticity, especially from the leader.
Full Authenticity
Full authenticity has everything to do with WHO the leader IS as much as WHAT the leader DOES. In her book, Fierce Leadership, author Susan Scott says it this way, “If you want to become a great leader you must gain the capacity to connect with your colleagues and customers at a deep level, or lower your aim. So, whether your goal is to improve workplace relations or gain market share, your most valuable currency is not IQ, it’s not the ability to build a really cool power point deck, or analyze a case study or write a white paper. Your most valuable currency is emotional capital. And this is far from a naive, feel good notion; it is really good business sense. In fact, I am proposing that human connectivity, as opposed to strategy and tactics, is the next frontier for exponential growth and the only sustainable competitive edge.”
Wow – that’s a pretty powerful statement: “human connectivity… is the next frontier for exponential growth and the only sustainable competitive edge.”
So let’s put these ideas together. The leader is important. Moreover, a fully authentic leader offers great potential for sustainable business results, including a thriving company culture. A thriving company culture represents a desirable working environment in which we often experience retention of top performers, high morale, employee commitment to the organization, fun, and positive, trusting relationships (aka human connectivity). Human connectivity is something we all long for AND it holds tremendous power to positively and exponentially impact the success of your organization. Let’s take a closer look.
Human Connectivity
Making healthy contact and connection in the world is a fundamental human need. The more healthy contact and connection we have, the more fulfilled we become. You’ve probably heard the old adage about the person on his deathbed asking to see his “stuff” one last time. “I just want to see my TV or my BMW one more time before I die.” Not. It is the people we are in relationship with that we want to see and spend our final moments with. Relationships and human connectivity MATTER. And if you are in a position of leadership, be it in a corporation, your church, or your family, your ability to build relationships and connection with others REALLY MATTERS.
Making healthy contact and fostering connection with others begins with the ability to make healthy contact and connection with ourselves. The relationship we have with ourself is the most important one we will ever have. As Socrates implored rather simply so long ago, “Know Thyself.” As a leader, self-knowledge is the foundation that must exist from which to expand your abilities to be truly effective and impactful with others and within your organization. How?
The kind of self-knowledge I am talking about goes beyond the basics of understanding your skills and strengths and how others’ perceive you. All important for sure; and yet just the tip of the iceberg. The kind of self-knowledge I help my clients develop takes them to a much deeper level of what is sometimes called consciousness. Consciousness is defined by Merriam Webster as “the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself; the upper level of mental life of which a person is aware.” And; I love this one; Samuel Johnson, in “Dictionary” (1755), defined consciousness as “endowed with the power of knowing one’s own thoughts and actions.”
Consciousness involves learning to observe the unconscious mind and bring previously unconscious thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions into one’s awareness. Once into awareness, you can then explore these in detail. How is this belief serving me now? How is it limiting me now? From where did this assumption originate? And begin to reframe and expand your options and choices by asking, “What other way of looking at this might serve me better?”
Consciousness is also learning to recognize and tame that all-too-present voice of our “inner critic” or “saboteur.” It’s bringing to the conscious mind an understanding of the compulsions that push us around. What is my internal conversation like? How do I support myself or tear myself down through my internal dialogue?
This self-exploration work is very enlightening and often very enlivening. Imagine realizing that a limitation you’ve been unconsciously placing on yourself is no longer needed or valid. You can choose to let it go and replace it with something more empowering. How freeing! Now imagine bringing this level of consciousness to your leadership, whether in your organization, your family, or your community group. With the realm of possibilties expanded, your internal chatter quieted down, and your awareness heightened to watch for limiting assumptions or beliefs that creep into your thinking, a lot of open space gets created. Open space for becoming more curious about the situation or the people you are leading and really listening to them at a deep level. This is how you create healthy connection in the world!
I am so passionate about working with leaders and individuals wanting to dive into this type of awareness work. I invite you to call or email me and find out how to get started. I promise you, the results can be life-changing!
What shifts would occur if you showed up with a deeper level of consciousness in your leadership? in your family and personal relationships? Ready to find out? Contact me!
610.287.2989
