HERBISM #80 – Great Leaders Consciously Choose To Operate Above The Line

Some define Consciousness as being painfully aware.

Maybe that is why it is also said that ignorance is bliss—less consciousness equating to less pain??

The four stages of development are:

Unconscious incompetence
Conscious incompetence
Conscious competence
Unconscious competence

And all development starts with awareness—becoming more conscious:

Awareness that what you know today is less than you will know tomorrow, but more than what you knew yesterday.
Awareness that if you don’t do something different you will stay where you are.

However…unless and until you do something with your increased awareness the added knowledge is just useless information.

That is what is meant by consciously choosing to operate above the line. Taking ownership of our circumstances. Welcoming accountability for our actions. Accepting responsibility for the outcomes.

Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp wrote a great book on this subject, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership.

Their experience is that:

Unconscious leadership is not sustainable. It won’t work for you, your team or your organization in the long term.
Unconscious leadership can deliver short-term results, but the costs of living and leading unconsciously are great.
Fear drives most leaders to make choices that are at odds with healthy relationships, vitality and balance. This fear leaves a toxic residue that won’t be as easily tolerated in an increasingly complex business environment.
Conscious leadership offers the antidote to fear.

Their book contains a comprehensive road map to guide you to shift from fear-based to trust-based leadership. They claim that once you learn and start practicing conscious leadership you’ll get results in the form of more energy, clarity, focus and healthier relationships. You’ll do more and more of what you are passionate about, and less of what you do out of obligation. You’ll have more fun, be happier, experience less drama and be more on purpose.

Your team will get results as well. They’ll be more collaborative, creative, energized and engaged. They’ll solve issues faster, and once resolved the issues won’t resurface. Drama and gossip will all but disappear, and the energy and resources that fueled them will be redirected towards innovation and creativity.

Dethmer, Chapman, and Klemp assert that any one of the 15 commitments will change your life, but all of them together are revolutionary.

Their promise is that leaders who practice the 15 commitments:

End blame and criticism
Speak candidly, openly and honestly, in a way that invites others to do the same
Find their unique genius
Let go of taking everything—especially themselves and their problems—so seriously
Create win for all solutions
Experience a new relationship to time and money where there is always enough

What do you need to bring to the table? Be curious. Sounds so simple, and yet in their experience it’s a skill few have mastered. Most of us are far more interested in being right and proving it, than we are in learning, growing and shifting out of our old patterns. By default we gravitate towards the familiar. We’re asking you to take a chance and explore the unfamiliar. You’ll get scared and reactive. We all do.

Here is a brief video that introduces the concept of Conscious Leadership: