All of us are leaders in our own right, some of us may be better at leading people at a work-place; some of us may be leaders in the play-ground or in a particular domain area because of our skill sets. A leader is one who has the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of its goals. Given that we are all leaders in our own ways, nevertheless we agree that some leaders are appreciated and accepted more than the others. The more aware one is the more we can impact our environment. We all have empathy for we can feel for others yet it seems to express itself only occasionally. This is an indicator that we all can contribute wherever we are if we enhance our sensitivities to the people or the cause we are serving. For example, the mother’s or father’s role in a family, a doctor’s role in the life of his patients, a teacher’s role in the life of his/her students, a manager’s role / supervisor’s role in the workplace so on as so forth - these are all places where we can exhibit conscious leadership because as we respond to the people we are interacting with, we have the capacity to touch all of them profoundly.
Conscious leaders have qualities that make them distinct from the others for then they are capable of transforming circumstances and people around them for they have a distinct vision as to how they want the future to be. The scale of that vision may be big or small – involving a few people or a large number, “what matters is that one believes what one is doing is significant in the service of others”.
The qualities then that make conscious leaders distinct are:
Calm: Conscious leaders are calm in the face of trials and tribulations of daily life and therefore make better decisions. The ability to be aware and calm is a combination that puts a leader in a position to be objective and clear about the path that they have to navigate.
Courage: A fearlessness that allows them to seek ways to implement their vision. Conscious leaders have a sense of adventure and dauntlessness to explore all the possibilities to optimize the resources available to them to deliver the results.
Curiosity: A desire to find optimal solutions to reach the desired end state that they wish to implement or envision with keenness / inquisitiveness that is concerned with the end goal in mind by simply asking, “How can I do this in a better way?”
Care: Conscious leaders also make provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance and protection of what they are building both in physical and non-physical dimension that makes all parties involved feel welcome. There is also a sense of assurance that one will be dealt fairly.
Competence: A conscious leader enhances his competencies by making sure that he sharpens his toolset, skillset and mindset. He also makes sure that his team does the same and everyone in the team rises together to achieve the mission they have set for themselves.
Let’s take the example of a mother who is practicing conscious leadership as she is raising well rounded, healthy children, she has to have the courage to deal with a lot of unknowns about ‘How to’ be it a decision about the food to be served on the table or how to get them to take interest in their academics or personal hygiene etc.,. The decision she will arrive at will depend on the curiosity with which she is looking for the optimal solution. The diet she finally serves on the table will indicate her concern with not only well-balanced nutrition but also about inculcating healthy eating habits in her children.
Similarly, for a businessman conscious leadership would reflect as an idea that is not only important for it meets his purpose (vision and mission) but is also worthy and ecological and through this he is able to generate health, wealth and happiness for both his internal (employees) and external customers. This would entail not only managing the culture of his organization in the initial stages of growth but also managing growth while engaging and leveraging his team with courage of conviction in his purpose, curiosity (pushing the team and technology to explore more) and caring for all stakeholders.
