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Part of the series “Today’s True Leadership”
Today, we’re learning more and more about the importance of mindfulness in enhancing not only our personal lives, but organizations and corporate systems as well. Research is confirming that a focus on awareness in our work and day-to-day lives is extremely beneficial in terms of reaching our goals and optimizing our life experiences. But is mindfulness sufficient to bring about the changes that so many leaders and organizations need to achieve, to thrive?
To answer this question, I was excited to catch up with Bob Rosen and Emma-Kate Swann for their take on mindfulness versus being fully conscious, to see the big picture and advance our goals.
Rosen is the founder and CEO of Healthy Companies and is a trusted global CEO advisor, organizational psychologist, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author of eight books. He is the co-author with Emma-Kate Swann of the new book Conscious: The Power of Awareness in Business and Life.
Swann is vice-president, Leadership and Transformation at Healthy Companies where she coaches executives and helps organizations navigate through change.
In Conscious, the authors explore how we can sharpen this critical skill of being conscious, to improve our ability to lead change and adapt, at work and in life.
Based on research drawn from psychology, biology, management, leadership, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, the authors identify six key disruptions that transform how we work and live — speed, uncertainty, complexity, technology, competition and globalization, and explore how to better navigate these through being more conscious -- of ourselves, our relationships and our surroundings.
Here’s what Rosen and Swann share:
Kathy Caprino: Can you explain what you mean when you say “Conscious is the new smart”?
Bob Rosen: When we were back in third grade we all fought to be the smartest person in the class. In many ways, people are still fighting that fight, still wanting to be the smartest person in the room. And for a long time, that approach actually worked.
The focus was on building specific skills and competencies and being even smarter about things that we thought mattered. But being smart is no longer enough to get you to the front of the class. Being smart may get you in the room, but being fully aware keeps you there. That’s especially true in today’s business environment where the need for transformation is constant, and the need for change simply never ends.
In order to cope – and hopefully thrive – in today’s hyper-active marketplace, leaders need to be hyper-aware of what’s going on and what they can do about the current reality – whatever that current reality might be. It’s really the only way to succeed, so cultivating a conscious mindset is critical in today’s workplace.
Caprino: So what does being conscious do for individuals and companies that being mindful does not?
Emma-Kate Swann: We get that question a lot, and it helps to distinguish between the two concepts. The short answer is that being conscious does a great many things that mindfulness does not. Mindfulness is the ability to maintain a moment-to-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, body and surrounding environment. That’s obviously good, but it’s not good enough.
The question becomes: What do you actually do with this wonderful state of mindfulness that you’ve worked so hard to achieve? Being conscious marries awareness and introspection to decision-making and goal setting. Conscious is literally awareness in action, and it takes mindfulness, if you will, to a whole new level. In a lot of ways, mindfulness is a reactive process, but it’s also clarifying. Conscious is a proactive process that builds on the clarity that you might have gained through being mindful, though you can also gain clarity in other ways. Being conscious can help with that, too.
For companies, having conscious leaders at every level is critical in so many ways. Beyond the need for leaders to be capable of fomenting and managing constant transformation, we also need leaders who fully grasp and appreciate the need for things like diversity and inclusion, talent management, and ethics – all of which are fundamental to the conscious mindset. Bringing the conscious mindset to bear operationally yields tremendous benefits in terms of increased productivity, whether in marketing, finance, IT or manufacturing. A big part of being conscious is bringing responsible, well-informed intent to your work. That alone is a winning combination, but conscious leaders also bring a certain authenticity and boldness to everything they do. And that makes them irresistible to others in the organization.
Caprino: You talk about conscious being linked to the ability to create change. How is that?
Rosen: To create change, we need to do some very basic things: First, we need to use awareness and introspection to fully understand the opportunities that we have in front of us and what we can do about them. Second, we need to transcend our impulsive or instinctive responses to changing circumstances so that we’re able to act with purpose and clarity as we move forward.
All of this requires an increased level of consciousness. Without that, opportunities aren’t fully understood and the possibilities to leverage them are not fully explored. So we lose ground on both ends of the equation and that’s just not necessary or acceptable. Being conscious and bringing that mindset to bear in our work can mean the difference between losing talent or attracting talent, signing new clients or losing clients, turning a profit or losing money. Conscious leaders are very adept at creating fertile ground for change to take hold and grow.
Caprino: Let’s talk about “disruptions” – what are the most challenging ones we all face in work and life today and how can we navigate them through being conscious?
Rosen: In our work with clients and in our research, we refer a lot to the six disruptors that are pretty much everywhere these days: speed, uncertainty, complexity, technology, competition, and globalization. Though we tend to view technology as being a disruptor all on its own, it really underlies and drives the other disruptors as well, so it’s a really rich point of discussion – we all feel the immediate impact of technological advances. Not surprisingly, disruptors can have both positive and negative effects on our organizations and our personal lives. The key is finding ways to use them to our advantage, and to leverage our unique qualities as individuals to do that. Our contention has long been that the answers to many of our questions lie within us and that includes our response to change and disruption. Yes, it’s possible to rely on your inner strengths and reserve to navigate disruption. It’s actually the best way to it.
Caprino: In what ways does being conscious differ among leaders as opposed to others in an organization?
Swann: Conscious leaders bring their best selves to the table and likewise challenge others to be their best. From our perspective, everyone is a leader, so we don’t necessarily make a big distinction between entry-level employees and other levels of leadership. By becoming more aware and conscious, we can all find purpose in our work and become more effective in bringing others along with us.
Now, leaders generally have to understand how and when to bring others along and we have some news on that front. One of the findings from a recent Healthy Companies/ Harris Poll suggests that people are quite open to being led and look to their leaders to help move them forward. A conscious leader who understands where her people are, who understands that they are receptive to change and interested in advancing their teams and organization, is more likely to be successful. There is real power in understanding that not everyone is resistant to change.
Caprino: You write that “Think Big” is one of the essential steps to becoming conscious. How would you describe thinking big? Is that thinking outside the box?
Rosen: Thinking Big goes way beyond, and is frankly much bigger than, simply thinking outside the box when it comes to solving a problem or accomplishing a task. Thinking Big is seeing the world as full of possibilities, as if you’re a drone in the sky expanding your mind to see over the visual horizon. It’s also about developing what people are calling a Google mind – or a mind powered by curiosity, learning, and continually refreshing itself. It’s getting comfortable with (and thinking in) paradoxes like “both/and” instead of “either/or.” Thinking Big is actually the mindset you need to cultivate before you can even start thinking outside the box.
In the end, nothing is more important than understanding ourselves, our relationships, and our surroundings. Being conscious helps us think deeper, learn faster, and collaborate better. The more conscious we are, the faster we adapt, and the higher performing we become. Transforming ourselves is the first and most critical step to transforming our organizations.
For more information, visit Conscious: The Power of Awareness in Business and Life.
To grow your leadership and career impact, work with Kathy and tune into her podcast FindingBrave.org.
