As we continue the Nobody Wants to Work Series, we have seen an increase in resignations. Although many people from diverse occupations have spouted, “I have had enough!” and are seeking more purposeful work, others are opting for early retirement, while others are begrudgingly staying put as inflation skyrockets.
So, as a leader, you may have experienced managers evacuating, unfulfilled colleagues, or begrudging employees who can’t afford to leave. Or maybe you have managed to create a purposeful workplace. Well done!
As a small business, having your talent take an early exit can leave a void in executing your strategic plan. So, what is a small business to do?
Stop the exodus before it starts.
For now, let’s stay the course to sustainability.
by Suzanne F. Stevens, Conscious Leadership and Social Contribution Cultivator, Founder, YouMeWe Social Impact Group Inc.
Part of the Nobody Wants to Work Series.
Incorporate Conscious Leadership Practices
Incorporating conscious leadership practices as part of your culture can turn Nobody Wants to Work into everyone wants to contribute to your mission.
In the previous YouMeWe Infusions, we shared strategies to incorporate to engage your team in purposeful work:
- Connect to compassion-connection™.
- Address what the world needs.
- Utilize colleague talents.
- Make a social initiative sustainable.
Incorporating each Social Impact Advantage (link) is fundamental for long-term engagement and colleague fulfillment.
Conscious leaders guide colleagues to connect to what they care about to optimize their meaning while engaging them using various leadership practices to harness their best to achieve the organization’s mission.
I have been honored to interview politicians, business, education, and community difference-makers from over 25 countries for YouMeWe Amplified Podcast (podcast.youmewe.ca). There are five characteristics they all have in common:
- They have integrity
- They feel a sense of responsibility and are service of something bigger than self.
- They are committed to creating a culture of ‘WE.’
- They collaborate to make a vision a reality.
- They have the courage and the willpower to persevere.
- And perhaps most important, they are at CAUSE, not EFFECT.
Conscious Leaders embody these characteristics and incorporate a worldview where business decisions consider profit balanced with colleagues, community, and the environment. They are radically responsible and self-aware and are committed to creating a culture of ‘WE.’
At YouMeWe Social Impact Group, we believe by adopting Conscious Leadership practices you’ll transform your organization into a more inclusive, tolerant, and trusting ecosystem where colleagues will flourish.
Over the next several weeks, we will dive into how to incorporate Conscious Leadership practices into your business based on what motivates colleagues to give their best, so you get their best.
How to move from cause to effect?
Each of us is either top-heavy or bottom-heavy.
Meaning — above the line, you are at CAUSE
CAUSE IS YOU CREATE YOUR LIFE
Below the line, you are at EFFECT
EFFECT IS RESPONDING TO LIFE
CONSCIOUS LEADERS are at CAUSE, where we are …
- Open
- Curious (Curiosity places us in the right frame of mind to listen, explore and assess possibilities.
- Committed to learning
- We see an abundance
AND BELOW the line, we are at EFFECT
- Committed to being right
- Defensive
- Closed
- We see scarcity
Below – we lead with our ego.
Up top – we lead with ears.
Knowing if you are CAUSE or EFFECT is vital to attracting, retaining, and engaging diverse colleagues.
We all have EGOS. But to what degree does your ego dictate decisions and actions?
Are most people at Cause or Effect?
Our default position is to be at EFFECT. This is due to evolutionary psychology, particularly the amygdala, the part of the brain that scans for threats. So, although there may not be a lion about to pounce around the corner, there could be an ego deflator about to pounce, threatening our perception of self.
So, our ego digs in and wants to be right.
Through self-awareness, you can tame your ego.
So, what does the brain have to do with it?
According to NLP, our unconscious mind processes 11 million bits of information every second. But our conscious minds can handle only 134 bits of information a second. So, we delete, distort, or generalize information to support our established biases and beliefs. (This explains why the same people always believe in conspiracy theories.)
Have you ever noticed that everyone seems to drive a white car when you get a new white car? Your mind filters through all the vehicles and just sees the white ones. It is looking for information to support the generalization that all cars are white. Or all people are loud, irresponsible (let’s make this a little more positive), supportive, loving, or friendly.
When dealing with collogues, or anyone for that matter, we delete, distort, or generalize information to support our established biases and beliefs. As a result, we project our perceptions onto them, often impeding their potential.
Yup, leaders subconsciously do this too!
I remember working with someone I believed would be ‘HARD WORK.’ And guess what? She was.
I had to recalibrate.
Pulling out the magnifying mirror, I asked myself: “What am I learning about myself based on my projection onto my client?”
Now, that was a revealing conversation with self!
By asking, “What am I learning?” I was able to take ownership of my part in creating an environment that wasn’t productive. So be aware; asking “What am I learning” fosters taking responsibility.
The result? I consciously shifted my perception from “she’s HARD WORK” to thinking she is “capable, committed, and magnificent.”
The reboot paid off for both of us.
Rapport transformed, and so did her view of the world.
How? Because I now believe she could.
This new perspective transformed my view of the world too.
Projecting your Perceptions
As a leader, have you ever projected onto someone your perception of them? What have you observed?
THAT conscious effort of “LEARNING” Will help transform the perception and start to clear the path to listen, learn, and lead without preconceived biases and limiting beliefs. So, you can start moving from EFFECT to CAUSE.
V/A
If you want the best from people, you need to see the best of people.
To see the best of people, you need to be your best self.
Your best self is the authentic you.
By removing the social mask that protects your ego, you create space for others to remove theirs and live their potential at work.
What can you do now to make your contribution count?
Self-reflection.
If you observe people not responding in the way you anticipated, check yourself first.
What may you be doing to perpetuate the situation?
Are you projecting a limiting belief, bias, or attitude that may impact the situation?
Once evaluated, recalibrate, and take a different approach that is open, curious, and committed to learning.
You just may see a perspective that alters your view of the world.
Thanks for joining me! I’m Suzanne F. Stevens, and at YouMeWe Social Impact Group, we grow Conscious leaders, their influence, and social impact—sustainably.
As part of our commitment to this mission, I invite you to complete a Potential Assessment–A transformation tool highlighting your strengths and growth opportunities. The best part, it reveals the biggest barrier to reaching your FULL POTENTIAL—a $297 value with YouMeWe compliments. Visit youmewe.ca/potential-assessment/ to gain access to this accurate transformation tool.
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