The Conscious Leader
Here’s a thought
“It’s hectic, flat out, got to get above this to think clearly and plan. But how?”
We are in a glass room in a very busy city centre. It feels cramped, not much room to spread out and there is nowhere to sit. Looking out people are dashing past in all directions and the roads seem congested with busses nose to tail. Movement and attempts to get ahead are controlled by red, amber and green except for crazed cyclists weaving through split second gaps.
There is a buzz about this city though I wouldn’t live here; I would find the frenzied pace, air pollution, noise and congestion exhausting.
Inside our glass room we are protected from the noise and pollution though our consciousness is limited to what is going on at street level. That’s why our thinking and discussion is at ‘street level’ – constrained, inward, detail, here and now, frantic, haphazard, hard to hear, little room for free movement and growth.
Then our glass room starts to rise, we are in an elevator moving up the side of a very tall building. Soon the people below are small dots and we can see over the buildings that previously closed us in. There are green fields in the distance and as we rise we become aware of the Earth’s curvature and the horizon. Up here things are much clearer, our view spans as far as the eye can see and takes in rivers, hills and valleys and huge swathes of open space.
Up here our conversation has shifted, no longer constrained by the frantic detail of the street. Our thinking is expansive, we are looking outward, we can see huge room for growth and possibility and with this raised perspective we know what is important and what to do about it. Our street level myopia, problems and anxieties have subsided with our elevated consciousness and we are thinking clearly together.
We briefly reflect on those back at ground level in offices and running projects, these people are incredibly busy battling to solve problems, swamped by 250 e mails a day. Often they can’t see where they are going or even beyond the current crisis. Things seem to be getting more and more complex, unfathomable and the people crave direction and focus though don’t get it so they stay small and look to navigate their own individual paths.
Their leader senses this, though s/he is also battling with ‘street level’ stuff and 250 e mails a day and so it goes.
Back up here with our sweeping view and raised consciousness what if we were to talk about your vision for yourself as a leader and for your organisation? And in relation to that what is really important and how can you get started? Who do you need with you and how can you get them on board? Let’s capitalise on this moment of clarity, what do you think, how about we (you) write it down?
The glass elevator was inspired by Jamie Smart’s Little Book of Clarity and is a metaphor for my work with leaders and their teams.
The next Leader will be with you on Tuesday 5th May 2015.