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In 2023, many organisations are struggling to retain employees and create a more inclusive work environment. They are looking for solutions to help their teams and divisions work better together and create a shared sense of purpose.
As organisations grow or acquire new businesses, they often face challenges with employees who are disconnected and working in silos. This can lead to a lack of trust and often increases conflicts and frustration.
One of our clients, the Head of HR at a global company, explained her organisation’s challenges:
“We have grown and acquired companies. With our growth, our people are disconnected, working mostly in silos. On our company surveys, employees share lack of trust and support.
There are frustrations, conflicts and blaming between teams and divisions and hybrid working is not helping either. We are looking at how we can support these divisions to work together and unite. For us to become one company.”
Many are developing their hybrid approach, have experienced re-development of their organisational structure, have merged and/or scaled. Teams and departments are working in silos, and there is a disconnect between people and purpose.
How can they create “one” company, increase trust and remove blame?
How can they be ready for the next wave of change?
Conscious Leadership is part of the Solution
Conscious Leadership is not just about having strong leaders, but instead building leadership capacity at all levels of the organisation. By helping leaders to learn how to continuously develop and adjust to the present moment, businesses can create a proactive and sustainable system that serves both the organisation and its employees.
What is Conscious Leadership?
Conscious Leadership offers a solution that transcends traditional leadership approaches by prioritising self-awareness, empathy, and ethical decision-making. It has been shown to positively impact employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and organisational resilience.
For businesses to be sustainable, they need to build their leadership capacity on multiple levels so that the system as a whole is proactive and continually pivots and aligns towards what is needed and best serves the whole, and that which serves the individual or teams. Conscious Leadership holds these 3 perspectives simultaneously: individual, team and organisation.
Successful organisations need to develop leaders who show up daily in ways that inspire and have attitudes, skills and behaviours that lead to company growth as opposed to stagnation. Conscious Leadership brings our attention to how we are showing up moment to moment and the impact we are having on others.
Conscious Leadership is not a state that is reached but instead involves continuous development and adjustment according to what is present in the moment.
Above and Below the Line Thinking
Imagine a line where above the line, you are at your best and most effective self.
Below the line, you are the opposite.
You think and behave below your best and therefore are ineffective as a leader. There may be a myth that Conscious Leadership is about leaders who are always at their best and we would suggest that this is not realistic.
We will all have those moments when we go below the line and act in a way that we realise is not us at our best and that we could have done something differently.
Behavioural science tells us that your behaviours start with your thinking and that your thinking impacts on your feelings and actions. We can develop our thinking to create new habits by building our capacity to be more conscious, to notice our thinking and to ask ourselves, “is this above-the-line or below-the-line thinking or behaviour for me?”
This is how you begin to correct yourself in the moment. Your first sign of success is to be able to notice your thinking. When you do this in advance of an action, you can be more conscious. You can make a choice to change your thinking from that which does not serve you or others to that which is above the line.
Which do you think will help you to achieve more?
In your daily life, as a conscious leader, you may go below the line and the great gift is your understanding and acknowledgement of this and then wanting to make a better choice in the future.
Conscious Leadership Programme
Introducing our Conscious Leadership Programme, designed to build the leadership capacity of organisations and to create a more inclusive and connected work environment.
In this programme, we will help you shift your mindset and change your attitude to a more collaborative and impactful way of working and leading.
A more generative way of working and leading, where there is increased respect in the organisation, where employees feel included. Working on inclusion, in fact, serves people’s needs to belong. Belonging is a base universal need that research has shown that we all have. This change in mindset needs to be developed at all levels – top-down, bottom-up, sideways, and diagonally – throughout the organisation.
In this programme, we offer multiple ways to create this oneness by connecting people to themselves, to others and the organisation at a higher level.
The Benefits of Conscious Leadership
- Increased Employee Engagement – Conscious Leadership prioritises creating a positive work culture with everyone leaders work with and through, resulting in increased employee engagement and job satisfaction. When employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be productive, motivated, and committed to the organisation’s success. They feel a sense of belonging and are less likely to leave.
- Relationships matter – as leaders develop their own self awareness of behaviours and attitudes, they become curious about relationships that are not adding value for them or the organisation. They have the tools to explore differences and facilitate healthy challenge and conflict. There is a shift between ‘them and us’ to ‘we’. Diverse views are welcomed and explored creating a safe and trusted space for change and innovation.
- Increased Organisational Resilience – Conscious Leadership prioritises continuous personal and professional development, and this helps people feel more connected and removes the feeling of conflict and frustration. Leaders with the skills and mindset to effectively manage stress and adversity and to be open and curious are more likely to lead their organisations to success in times of uncertainty.
Conscious Leadership offers a solution to today’s challenges. It is a leadership approach that can be applied in any context. It values self-awareness, empathy, and ethical decision-making, creating a culture of continuous personal and professional development, fostering a positive work culture, and a vision that inspires and engages employees.
If you’re interested in learning more about Conscious Leadership and how it can help you overcome challenges and scale your organisation, join us for our interactive session, 09:30-11:00am on Thursday February 16th.
During the session, you’ll learn about the benefits of Conscious Leadership, hear real-world examples of Conscious Leadership in action, and have the opportunity to ask questions and engage with other HR professionals. Register now to attend.