Mind Full or Mindful? How present are you in your Leadership?

How often are you actually present?

By this I mean in the moment, 100% here, now both physically and mentally. Simply being present, in your body, immersing myself in the here and now, and suspending any habitual ways of thinking,

• More than 50% of the time?
• Less than 50% of the time?

Being in the moment is more than being there in person. It’s about truly bringing your whole self into the room: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. It’s about clearing your mind and not being distracted by your own thoughts and stories and being ‘still’.

In this way you are more open to observe any situation from a position of objectivity. To observe feelings and actions being transmitted and picking up on what may not be being transmitted. For me this is about being really centred and grounded so you can truly connect with the person or people you are working with.

It’s about being engaged in the relationship, connecting and then noticing what comes up.

When you are really present you:

1. Are more flexible giving you the ability to ‘ebb and flow’ in the moment. Because   you are not pre-occupied with your own thoughts you are more able to respond (as opposed to react) to what is happening.
2. Are more able to access your own intuition and “trust your gut." Your mind is clear and therefore you are able pay more attention to what is going on in your body and how you feel.
3. Are more open to not knowing and exploring what might be. 
4. See more options to work with those around you and choose, in the moment, what is most effective. 
5. Can shift perspectives and experiment with new possibilities.
6. Will be more confident in working with strong emotions without being    overpowered by other's emotions. 

 But how do you do it?

You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s an intellectual process. It’s not; it’s a physical process. It’s about bringing the whole of you to the room and to the moment – each and every moment.

This requires you to let go of your conscious thought, to be comfortable with not knowing and trusting the wisdom of your whole body.  It also means letting go of all those models that we may hold onto in our head to find a solution or make a decision.

By paying attention to your whole body you are more likely to tap into your intuition. When you are truly present you are able to attune to EVERYTHING that is going on: emotions, mood, physiology, concerns and yearnings of those around you.

Listening to your intuition and ‘inner knowing’ you can choose the moment to act. This may mean taking a risk and shifting the perspective of your audience.

So how do we get good at it?

Mindfulness practices help as they will help you quieten the mind, for example, meditation, yoga, tai chi, relaxing and paying attention to the breath. For those without one of these mindfulness practices I would suggest practicing getting grounded and centred every day. This is how I started and I promise you it works!

I have found practicing the more I practice the easier it gets.

You can practice in many situations and I encourage people to find moments in the day to be really present e.g. walking down the street, on the train or tube, shopping, in the shower, putting your children to bed. There are endless opportunities when you start to think about them.

If being present is a challenge for you give me a call and we can explore this further to determine what action you can take. I believe everyone can do it. It just takes practice.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

Gandhi

Truth or Fiction?

“ We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin

What does this phrase mean to you?

For me I interpret it as how we see the world is based on our own experiences and beliefs we've developed over our life time. It therefore means that our own view of a situation will not always be the same as someone else's.

When we come up against this it can cause conflict either with others or, within ourselves, and these can often be uncomfortable experiences.

Our perceptions, how we view the world, become our reality and we can make lots of assumptions which are often untrue. 

When working with coaching clients this will often arise as a difference of opinion. If unexplored it can become an obstacle to progress.

If you are faced with this scenario it's worth looking at what you actually know as fact. 

• What has actually happened? 
• What has actually been said? 

Ask yourself; 

• What assumptions are you making? This may be about the other person, the situation or yourself.
• What stories are you making up about the situation?
• Knowing this what if anything do you need to do to move things forward?

Leaving situations to fester can make a mountain out of a mole hill, so make a habit of asking yourself these questions whenever you begin to feel uncomfortable or think a misunderstanding in brewing. 

Sitting with Stress

It's the start of Summer. A time when most people take some well earned time off to slow down and rest. However, in the modern day we'd be lucky to slow down for a season and not feel the internal bubbling of stress and daily demands. We all know the spacious experience of days that flow as we move from one task to another, and yet other times the pressure lands when jobs are stacked breathlessly.

You may have heard the saying that you should ‘sit silently’ for at least an hour a day, unless you are too busy, in which case you should sit for two. Well the irony of stress is that it does not enjoy considering its antidote. But it is much simpler than we could think.

Whether you're sitting at an office desk, commuting or even standing in a queue what I'd like to offer you here is a simple technique to feel more physical space and hence restore and relax. If you allow five minutes it may feel timeless. Over years of facilitating physical embodiment I notice the most simple techniques can shift a person from doing, to being. My invitation is to read and try - closing your eyes after each instruction - and taking time to feel before opening eyes and progressing to the next. So when you're ready let's start.

With a breath, in or out, form a gentle fist. Notice the touch of your fingers against your palm. 

On another breath, open the fist slowly, fully, and pause to notice the space between your fingers. 

We're going to repeat with simple attention, so again with breath, take time to gently close the fist and feel the sensations of the full journey from open hand to closed fist.

When you next open your hand try a breath through your mouth and notice how your jaw hinge releases a little. 

Try this again, a breath through your mouth while the hand opens and notice your jaw.

Now you know what we're doing, continue to offer you attention, closed eyes if you're comfortable and notice how your opening and closing hand fits with the rhythm of your breath for you. See what changes. 

When you feel complete, I encourage you to stand and take a walk around, with attention to breath and an increased sense of space. 

You'll see for yourself that this exercise can apply to any movement that opens or closes body parts, even say, raising your toes up from the ground while sitting. Simple encouragement to breath is what many stressed bodies are crying out for in our society. So if this exercise is relaxing for you I encourage you to try it through your day. And seeing as it takes only five minutes, not an hour, it really is possible to include double on stressed days.

Leela Fisk is a conscious movement practitioner who teaches Soul Motion™ dance practice to adults and children interested in embodiment practice www.leeladance.com

Time to Breathe

As we firmly enter into summer and the holiday season most of you will be looking forward to some time off and the opportunity to unwind and relax……… And some of you will have already done it!

More and more in business this is a time to de-stress and I hear many people talk about how long it takes them to unwind which got me wondering…………… Do you know how stressed you are? Are you stressed at all or simply tired? Are you taking responsibility for how you feel?

Stress is often caused by ‘feeling’ out of control and yet there is very little we are actually in control of other than ourselves. So, maybe the place to look is at ourselves to answer the question How can I be more comfortable at handling ambiguity?

Just asking this question of myself lands very differently to how do I stop getting stressed or how can I be more in control?

Taking Stock

It is our brains that create our very own stress response and is based on what we perceive as a threat. When we feel under threat the brain releases cortisol and adrenalin that floods the prefrontal cortex and stops us ‘thinking clearly’. The cortisol goes straight into our nervous system and affects our breathing. When we ‘feel’ stressed this is what is happening and there will almost certainly be other physiological reactions in each of us.

If we are under stress for a prolonged period of time higher levels of cortisol is produced which can cause the immune system to shut down and an increase in blood pressure and your heart rate.

So you can see how prolonged periods of stress can affect our health.

Doing something Different

So, the first step is to decide to take responsibility and choose to do something about it. The second step is deciding where to start. Where would be the best place for you to begin to be more comfortable with ambiguity? I would suggest you start with a situation that creates mild stress. This way you are creating a higher probability of success.

Here are some things to practice:

1. Become aware of your physical response. Where do you tense up? What sensations do you feel in your body? What happens to your breathing?
2. Breathe. Take a deep breath and breathe into your diaphragm – you may even need to take several! This actually affects your parasympathetic nervous system and begins to calm you down.
3. Determine what you can actually do about the situation. Do you need to walk away? Do you delay the conversation? Do you have to approach things differently?
4. What stories do you have about this? Are they true or is your imagination running away with you?
5. What’s the reality of the situation?

We are hardwired to react a certain way, so any change will require a focus on something different, which is why the question you ask is key, such has how can I better cope with ambiguity. You may well come up with a better question for yourself.

The brain likes things to stay the same so tackling one thing at a time and being focussed to create a new neural pathway is important. As a great friend of mine says ‘practice makes permanence’.

Take one step at a time and focus on what you want not what you don’t want.

"I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go." 

Sheng Yen 

The Growth Cycle

How often do you stop and think about the process of personal growth?

If you are like I was when I was in a corporate role probably never! You’re way to busy and just get on with what you have to do. Your development actions become part of your task list and you may do some reflection on the way home.

 If you follow any process you use Kolb’s learning cycle. Whilst this is a great process to get your head around learning it doesn’t quite address some of the deeper things you need to consider as a leader if you want to grow. So, I thought I’d share this process that I have taken from the work I do with archetypes.

There are basically 3 stages:

·       Preparation

·       Learning and Growth

·       Application and Celebration

Preparation

Here you get clarity on what it is you want to learn or how you want to develop. You may set a goal, an intention or outcomes and identify any tools or support you need on the way. This includes your own mental preparation and readiness to start.

Learning and Growth

This is almost a cycle on it’s own with four parts to it:

1. Exploration: To experiment, study, understand, and discover the topic you set out to achieve.
2.  Commitment: Determine what it is you will commit to. What will you do differently?
3. Let Go: Having made the commitment let go of anything that no longer serves you. This may be an old habit, a belief, people or tools and techniques. There may also be more than one thing!
4. Create: Start doing, being and or thinking differently.

You may go around this several times before you move on to the last stage.

Application and Celebration

The final stage is to practice and practice and practice and celebrate your achievements. This may sound easy and it’s the one most people do less consciously or give up if something doesn’t work.

To get good at something we have to continually fine tune and we may also need to adapt for differing situations. So always recognise your progress and celebrate!

“The voyage of discovery is not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

Is Good Enough Enough?

As a leader you have probably spent years making things happen with the resources you have.

In response to projects, many organizations figure out the resources they've got and then work hard to do something ‘good enough’. On time, within budget. Meeting spec etc. etc., after all, it is your job.

You end up, if you're lucky, with something that works.

Is that enough? Is that what you are prepared to settle for? Don’t get me wrong I know there are few perfect scenarios, however do you/we ever question what we are faced with and adapt to produce something that is great?

As a leader your growth and potentially recognition and promotion comes down to 2 things:

• What you do with challenges

• What you do with opportunities

Do you see opportunities in challenge?

Do you shy away from opportunities by either ignoring them or offering them to others?

Do you play small rather than play big?

What is your default setting?

What’s the next step for you to be better than good enough?

Feel free to leave a comment with what it is for you.

And……  if you need some support and encouragement on the way from a coach give me a call. I’m more than willing to help you achieve things you never imagined you could.

“Awkward is the barrier between us and excellence.”

Seth Godin

Calling all Leaders in Pursuit of Excellence

Some things are not new. They are as old as the hills.

So, rather than share my own thoughts, on this occasion I thought I’d share one from my collection of quotes from Epictetus.

Epictetus was a Greek philosopher (55 – 135 AD). His view was all external events are determined by fate and therefore, we have no control over them. We should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately……. sometimes easier said than done!!

However, individuals are responsible for their own action, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. Here are some questions and thoughts for you to consider from his perspective:

 

“Who exactly do you want to be?

What kind of person do you want to be?

What are your personal ideals?

Whom do you admire?

What are their special traits that you would make your own?

It's time to stop being vague.

If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to become wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become.

If you have a daybook, write down who you're trying to be, so that you can refer to this self-determination.

Precisely describe the demeanor you want to adopt so that you may preserve it when you are by yourself or with other people."

If you do not have a personal development plan in place yet why not use this as s simple way to get started. Identify what you want your first step to be and take it.

Then on a daily or weekly basis review how you are doing. Ask yourself these questions:

1.    What is working for you?

2.    What could you do a little better?

3.    What is your next step/action to continually improve?

Have fun with it and celebrate your progress!