Conscious Leadership for Remote Teams
A new kind of leadership is required for uncertain times and beyond
We are in the midst of uncertain, tumultuous times. It feels almost like one of those apocalyptic blockbuster movies from Hollywood. A once-in-a-century global pandemic that literally shuts down the world economy and distances people from each other. During times like this, we’re required to draw upon our own inner peace and wisdom to stop us from engaging in the panic we sense around us. Now more than ever we need conscious leadership that will produce calm, measured responses that serve all humanity, not just a few.
One of my passions is sharing the concept of conscious leadership because it is so desperately needed in all aspects of life: government, education, corporations (including remote teams), families—really any area where we interact with each other. So what is conscious leadership and how can we develop it?
Put simply, consciousness is awareness. Often times we operate from unconscious patterns; things that were engrained in us as children or assumptions we made about life as we went through various experiences. We don’t even think about these behaviors or motivations because it’s almost like a computer program running in the background, but we don’t see it on our home screen. So consciousness is bringing awareness to our thoughts, emotions, and the resulting actions.
Here’s an example of how a conscious leader and a leader caught in unconscious thoughts and feelings would address a situation differently:
Employee Bree fails to complete a project given to her by her leader.
Unconscious leader immediately thinks, “How dare Bree not follow through on that project?! She obviously doesn’t respect my authority. I’m going to make sure she pays for this.” The leader then gives into anger, resentment, and feeling disrespected. She sends a curt email to Bree telling her that if she doesn’t “shape up” she’ll risk her job. This then leads Bree to feel feelings of fear and anxiety and results in decreased productivity.
Conscious leader faces the situation differently. He knows that he has a tendency to get frustrated when a project isn’t done how he wishes. But he’s working on communicating better with employees and making sure they have what they need to do their jobs well. He genuinely wants them to succeed.
So instead of giving into anger or frustration, he calls Bree via Zoom and asks about the missed project deadline. Bree shares that she didn’t know the deadline was today; the email she initially received said it was due in two weeks. Changes to the deadline hadn’t been conveyed to her. Conscious leader asks Bree how they can improve the process for future projects. They have a healthy conversation about how project management can be refined and both leave the call feeling confident and happy to be working together.
The key difference between these two scenarios is that the conscious leader had spent time bringing to his awareness through coaching an understanding of his unconscious programming and his tendency to be frustrated. He’d learned that he made things too personal and desires to lead his life in a way that results in a win-win for everyone he encounters. Unfortunately, the unconscious leader is still trapped in thoughts and feelings that result in conflict and problems at work and in life.
Conscious leaders seek the best for their teams. They offer remote work options and provide the resource their teams needs to succeed because they want their employees to be as happy and prosperous as possible.
The coronavirus pandemic is causing many organizations and their leaders to reevaluate how they operate now (in a remote setting) and how they will function moving forward. This is our opportunity to introduce more conscious leadership that will transform the workplace and the very nature of work. Many of us have ample time with quarantine or stay-at-home orders to reflect on what really matters to us personally and professionally. What awareness is being awakened in you by our current situation? And what will you change as a result?
I will soon be launching a training series for employers and employees to hone their remote work skills and bring more conscious leadership to work. Stay posted for these exciting and timely new courses!
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