This point hit me twice today, as earlier, I was listening to music while walking outside and heard the words “You are the future,” by One Republic, a similar message to what I quoted above.  After hearing and seeing these reminders, my spirit lifted, my perspective shifted and I thought to myself, there’s something in this.  So many of us, are on a journey that isn’t well-defined, ambiguous at times and highly uncertain.  Yet, when I asked myself the simple question: Where am I now? The buzz and the worry came to a grinding halt. Full stop.

Go ahead, ask yourself the same question.  It doesn’t have to be a grand response, it might be as simple as “I don’t know?” In that moment though, you give yourself permission to stop, breathe, and recalibrate.  In my experience, instead of marching on with what I thought I ought to do; I listened, felt what was required and did just that.  And doing “just that” may be the seed of what’s to come.

You are capable of so much and in every moment, you are dynamic and very possibly, a better version of those well-defined results of the past.

So where are you now? In the middle of a meeting? Trying to make a decision? Working through a problem? Shift your focus to what you are currently experiencing – go with it, let that anchor you in something very clear. That clarity might be: a sound, a feeling, to what is missing, what is energizing, or what someone has just said.  The clarity may be anything. Only you can hear it and feel it, when you stop and pay attention.

What you are doing and how you are currently handling something, demonstrates who you are and your credibility. As for the results?Well, this depends on where you are now.

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Needing to explore your options, or design a new roadmap. I’m here to help, contact me at susan@wrightmomentum.com

To manage this tension I decided to read other people’s reflections and posts about the New Year. Two thoughts emerged: 1) most emphasize the positive aspects of a new year, and  2) clearly when I’m feeling unwell, I don’t resonate with new year inspirational messages. Yikes, I know, I’m a coach right? However, what this opportunity did provide, was balance.  How so?

For me, it was a balanced perspective. As someone who sees the potential in people and things, I can be a bit blinded. That said, when I’m a little off my game, I’m a bit more critical and selective in my view (okay, maybe more cynical as well) which enables me to ask: What needs to be true for me? In other words, I don’t blindly subscribe to what the media and others might suggest, but rather I lead from what’s resonating for me.

The truth is, I’ve lived an entire year of uncertainty and although a new year brings hope, it also brings more uncertainty, and that’s something I can’t get overly excited about.  To manage uncertainty it’s essential for your team, your organization or your community to know what’s true for you.  This will keep you and others grounded and hopeful, similar to the fine balance of our physical and mental health.

So what’s true for you? These might be things like your values, beliefs, your love for a significant other, the way your care or don’t care about certain things and people.  A couple of things are true for me, like my values and responsibilities; specifically, my health, family and time; and therefore, I invest in these things.

If the New Year feels a little uncertain, first know, you’re not alone; second, ask what’s true for you; and third, invest in those things.  As a result, you and I might discover some certainty, decisiveness, and strength to move confidently forward into 2017.

Candidly Yours,

Susan

Are you leading in uncertainty?  Recognizing what’s true for you and others is key.  Contact me susan@wrightmomentum.com to discover the clarity to inform your best decisions for 2017.

Fast-track 16 years later, since the inception of my business, Wright Momentum and the same philosophy holds true; enabling change, innovation and transformation requires an integrated, collaborative and conscious approach.  Several years back, I developed models for collaboration and conscious change, but my timing was early and these ideas were only starting to emerge; yet, I can now see what started as a philosophy in my own approach to personal and organizational development, is now more widely embraced and required more and more for people and businesses to thrive. How so? Because there is an abundance of data driven information and resources available to accelerate change, and humans need to adopt and adapt at an unprecedented pace while managing new complexities and relationships in a global network. Being consciously-minded enables leaders and teams to integrate complexity and rapid change in a way that can serve the greater-good and the bottom-line.

We have witnessed and are now experiencing the back-lash, divide and polarities that bring about change and evolution. It’s painful and turbulent; and yet, I believe good will succeed when our leaders and organizations act in conscious ways. Call it a wake-up call – whatever you want, but our civil liberties, business and societal values are being shaken, stirred and awoken from complacency.  The seeds of change are often unrest.  I have worked with so many people and leaders who want to improve and make a change, either for themselves or for the systems they lead and work within.  They wrestle and negotiate both the complexity of their inner and outer worlds in an effort to succeed and thrive.

I’m very optimistic that as a global network, we are having the tough conversations, the dialogue that brings awareness, insight and positive action. And, if you are not, well then, why not engage some support to do so? You might be walking in the forest but you don’t have to do this alone.  As a conscious leader it’s your responsibility to engage yourself and others in a meaningful and provocative way.  We can enable change by integrating our own views and those of others, through divergent thinking, conversations and convening on matters of importance.  When we do this, something new can emerge: a transformative idea or innovative solution, and a collective consciousness that is aware of the whole, rather than the parts.  Business and organizations, and the world for that matter, are ecological systems and isn’t it time, we draw closer together to create, innovate and do our bit for the greater good?

Sources:

The Global Centre for Conscious Leadership 

Conscious Capitalism

@heathermcgowan http://www.heathermcgowan.net and http://www.futureislearning.com

Forbes  and @JennLederer

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Need help to create effective responses to dynamic relationships and complex change? Let’s have a conversation, email: susan@wrightmomentum.com

The thing is, it’s not what you’re saying that matters the most, it’s what others see and feel.  When I’m saying something that I think is the right answer, often it’s not. How so? Well, the problem is multilayered. If I’m preoccupied with coming up with the right answer because I’m attached to a specific outcome, then I’ve clouded the spirit of what I want to say.  In search of the right answer we lose sight of our authentic expression. The experience of the listener is a feeling of incongruence; on one hand what someone is saying may be correct, on the other hand, it feels disjointed or disingenuous.

Now, if we didn’t worry about saying the right thing but rather, what we feel, something cool starts to happen. Both you and the listener feel engaged, on point, and very possibly, well-understood.  There is a meeting of the minds and hearts. From the boardroom to the classroom this way of communicating matters.  When we feel our words then our body language and behaviour follows suit. We embody what we say and therefore, we become engaging, influential and often trustworthy.

We do need to think before we speak but we also need to notice our internal frequency or intention.  If we can harmonize one with the other, then we can deliver something quite insightful or impactful.  So next time you start wondering if you said the right thing, just check-in with your gut and heart. If they don’t quite jive, take a moment, reconnect and then say what you want to say.

Love to hear your thoughts on this piece – write a comment below.

Need help to frame how you say things and win the heart and minds of others? Email me at susan@wrightmomentum.com