My name is Lilly and I work with entrepreneurs and established businesses on how to better move their businesses, their impact, as well as their personal lives forward. I’ve worked with some of the best leaders at some of the world’s top think tanks, including the World Health Organization (of the United Nations), published peer review work in the sciences, and taught numerous workshops on health, mindset, and leadership.
Although I started out consulting in health policy and health financing, I’ve learned that the nature of my work with driven, motivated, and self actualizing individuals has actually turned into coaching. Leaders and budding leaders at work and in their communities who serve and give a lot of value - i.e., conscious leaders - are always wanting to be coached on how to become better versions of themselves. To that end, when YEG Boss Babes approached me to write a blog a few weeks ago, I thought an apt topic would be conscious leadership!
In today’s fast paced world, good leadership is more important than ever. A multitude of leadership topics tend to focus on the problem on the surface - teams not sticking together, or leaders not delgating their work. These are important topics, but I feel that long lasting personal, cultural and organizational change comes only when we begin looking at changes coming from within, i.e., within each leader herself.
Internal change, self awareness, and self growth are key to becoming better versions of ourselves. I could easily write a thesis on this (and talk for hours on it!) (and yes, I have done this! 😋), so with great difficulty, I selected just four bullet points here. Connect with me as a lot of my work does involve mindset and change coming from within.
This article is a small summary of some of the good leadership that I’ve seen over the course of my career. So whether you’re an established influencer in your field, just getting out of college, or thinking of making a career jump, I hope it gives you some food for thought, and adds to your day! Reach out to me if you have any questions. 😊
1. Conscious leaders are guided by a mission
Conscious leaders are guided by a mission, vision, and/or purpose that is bigger than themselves. There is a larger than life aspect to being guided by something that’s larger than just our own likes or dislikes, or what our own needs may be at a certain point in time. For example, JK Rowling was driven by what seems to have been a passion for infusing fantasy, character development, and morality into story telling, so much so that she kept writing even when she was homeless and a single parent. Elon Musk’s “work” or “products” may be tech oriented, but he has stated that it is his desire to help humanity that causes him to keep inventing, time and time again, after what were temporary failures or standstills.
Now, I’m not saying that you should voluntarily seek out a new life full of challenges, or that leaders only become so when forged by fire, but there is truth in the fact that winners are only winners by virtue of having persevered in spite of challenging times. Yes or yes?
I’m sure that you’ve experienced a few of your own! Having a vision bigger than your present circumstances helps you keep going even in rough times. When you’ve connected to your passion, and mission, you can hold your attention on it, and on anything, with your will will. This kind of discipline of adhering to your purpose will help you persevere in ways that a mere “work ethic” or a “need to pay the bills” wont.
Mission, vision, and purpose will take you to the end, get you to the top, get you through the finish line. Focus on honing your ability to connect with and be led by them, and you can go further than ever before.
2. Conscious leaders focus on themselves.
What??
Yes, you heard me right. :) Conscious leaders do this!
By which I mean that conscious leaders look inward — they work on being self aware, and on acknowledging their innermost motivations for wanting or doing something. Then they can evaluate this in light of their purpose and vision (see point #1).
Leaders work on themsevles — they know that the better they become, the better their work and ability to contribute become (see point #4!). And when things go wrong, rather than playing the blame game, or getting defensive, or hiding under a rock (although we may all have wanted to hide under a rock at some point!) — they look at what role they played, and always include themselves in the troubleshooting process. In short, by focusing on themselves, they can take greater responsibility for who they are and the energy that they contribute to the greater whole.
If you’re still with me, you can probably see that doing the above takes a lot of humility! And it’s true, it takes a humble person to put themselves under the microscope. It takes self awareness to understand what is under the microscope. And it takes vulnerability to admit to onself what one is really thinking, doing and being.
Have you ever had a great teacher, friend, or boss at some point, who, in spite of their power, position, or influence, was so humble and so open to bettering themselves, that it was so attractive? Ensuring you have great mentors and people around you who do this as well will keep you humble, great leader.
Leaders who are conscious develp a habit of focusing on themselves. By better understanding their own motivations, they are often keen observers and students of others. I work with leaders who want to become better versions of themselves, because they understand that at a high level, this is the only way that they’ll keep growing and contributing. Can you see how a keen awareness of yourself, and then of the people around you and of society at large can help you not only in managing your relationsihps, but also growing in your career, and in understanding societal trends?
3. Conscious leaders are decisive
Conscious leaders are decisive individuals. These are not the ones who waddle through life, fearful of committing to something, or of taking a stand for something.
When a leader has that sense of purpose (see point #1), they can choose behaviour and actions that take them closer to that purpose. For example, it’s not uncommon for someone to choose a temporary paycut, or something less prestigious, for the chance to gain skills or learn from mentors. A lot of highly successful people have left what was once comfortable, and perhaps financially sensible, for something temporarily uncertain or uncomfroable. They did this becuase they saw this as taking them closer to their mission. Therefore, when living according to your mission, you might choose temporary sacrifice, and if you do, you do so decisively.
Conscious individuals are of conviction. They are committed to ideas, values, or ways of life and they’re not afraid to take a stand for things. Think of leaders of the civil rights movement, or anyone who’s advocating for something in which they believe — they decide to do or stand for what they feel is right, at the risk of being unpopular at first. Or, relevant in today’s world — regardless of whether or not it will yield them follows or likes. 😋 This is because they’re not guided by popular opinion — they are self aware enough to have an inner guiding compass (see point #2).
Rather than sit on a fence, conscious leaders treat others, employees, animals, strangers, and people who may not be able to give them any return or benefit, etc. according to their values and morals — there is consistency in their principles, and decisiveness in their actions and execution.
There is a genuine charisma about people who don’t waver on things that are important them. So, what is important to you?
4. Conscious leaders understand that life is ever-evolving
Leaders in life and in business understand that life is fluid and dynamic, and ever changing. Because of this, rather than be swept away, hoping that the tide turns, leaders take ownership of their OWN ride — they take ownership of their own development and evolution.
Most people, if not all, at the top of their fields have cultivated the practice of continuing to develop themselves. Statistics show that almost 90% of the world’s top leaders and experts in their fields are coached — by multiple coaches. Richard Branson attributes his earliest success in part to his coach. When one of my best friends was ready for change — real change — he used three credit cards to afford his coach. The next year he made a million within three months. When leaders work with coaches and mentors, they start being enveloped and supported in a micro-environment in which there is one purpose: developing and strengthening them, and making them proactive players in in an ever changing world and economy — making them leaders.
Oprah said that all her life she’s asked to be used in whatever which way she could serve and contribute the most. Through her fluid and transformative career, she has been a news anchor, on the radio, host of her own syndicated show, owned her magazine, and so much more. And she’s also stumbled along the way. Oprah and other leaders often see themselves as belonging to something bigger — sometimes they take hits, and other times things have to naturally end for the next phase to begin. Having a keen understanding of the fact that there is an ebb and flow to life helps us manage, and even thrive, in times of change.
I know, there is discomfort that comes with growth and changes. But intentional growth — taking ownership of your development as a leader in your personal and professional life, makes us stronger, which in turn makes us better equipped for the future.
In reflecting back on your own life so far, can you see that there was always a story, a character development, or a process of transformation and unfolding, even if you couldn’t see it at the time? By understanding that there is a fluidity to life, and that both your own life and this world at large is always in a state of transformation, perhaps we can start feeling comforted. Nothing is static, everything newer and better is always possible, so long as we dive in and choose ourselves to be the most conscious leaders we can be.
At the heart of it all, showing up as a leader is as professional as it is intimate, as profound as it is mundane. Leadership is the reason why you learned values and morals as a child, why you were inspired at one point toward a career path or of emulating someone, and why you had a community of support — from your favourite teacher, to your sports coach, to those who raised you. The fact that leadership exists in the world is the reason why you were guided and encouraged and shaped the way you were. This was by those who came before you.
And conscious leadership, in turn, is the reason why you’ll make the impact that you will in your life, for those who come after you. 💛
[Ways to connect with me, the blogger]
Instagram: @theLillyWang
