www.impaqcorp.com323 969 0088
02.2011
Beyond Skill-Building to Develop Leaders: Raising Consciousness and Increasing Critical Thinking
One of my favorite quotes is by Albert Einstein; "We can't solve problems by using the same level of thinking we used when we created them." Yet, while it is helpful to provide skill-building programs in topic areas such as managing conflict, coaching skills, decision-making, project management, and implementing HR policies, managers are solving problems but not necessarily uncovering or resolving the root cause issues that would truly change the situation. For instance, a Director of Finance was complaining about other departments not following procedures that were established by the organization. They had gone to skill-building workshops in conflict resolution, negotiation, and coaching, and while he was using those skills, no progress was being made in the resolution of the problem.
It is time to develop the "consciousness" of leaders so that they can "think" differently about the problems they face. What does it mean to raise consciousness? Consciousness is best described by one's ability to view a situation from a "higher altitude" -- in other words instead of being caught in the situation, they have the ability to rise above the situation to see varying perspectives, new alternatives, and can project into the future possible consequences from the many alternatives before them. It also involves developing more compassion, more understanding, and more neutrality towards the human condition -- managing with heart (not emotions) in addition to one's mind. After raising the Director of Finance's consciousness in regard to their situation, they discovered that what they were asking for from others was not only unrealistic, given how the organization has changed in the last five years, but it was also unwarranted. While there was a need for a procedure to collect certain information, this could not only be done differently, he could solicit the input of others to come up with procedures that would work in today's business environment.
The conscious leader is not bound by the critical thinking ability of their technical competence. The leader of finance can step beyond thinking like an accountant. The marketing and sales leader can step beyond solving every situation using their expert communication skills. The HR Manager can step beyond thinking of every problem as a human resource challenge. One of the first steps in breaking down the silos that prevent an organization from executing their business strategy effectively is to raise consciousness and develop people's ability to understand the workings of other functional areas.
How do you know when the consciousness of an organization needs to be elevated? The organization feels stuck, appears to be in crisis or chaos as a constant state, and people are complaining and blaming others for breakdowns. Micromanagement increases and people at all levels are in a flurry of activity, solving problems and crisis, but making little progress for accomplishing the priorities of the organization.
The University of Santa Monica offers a Master's Degree in Spiritual Psychology, which has been a source of my development in raising consciousness. Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick, President and Academic Vice Chancellor of USM, have released their newest book, Loyalty to Your Soul published by Hay House. In it they describe a concept that I have used to improve organizational performance. Simply put, all habits are comprised and operate on three levels that are all interconnected -- Mental, Emotional, and Physical. If one is to experience a permanent improvement in any area of their life, they must improve all three levels to sustain a long-term change. For instance, if you are challenged by having a disorganized office, the solution will be short lived if you only take a weekend to organize your office. You will feel better, but old habits will take over that will cause you to mess up the office in a similar way as before. Even if you come up with a "new" system of organization, you will have a likelihood of creating a mess in your office again.
Based on the concept of addressing all three levels when making a change, you can't just do the "physical" activity or organizing. You must also explore the ways in which you don't think (mental level) in an organized manner. Maybe it is leaving tasks incomplete before going on to the next task. Maybe it is indecision that plagues you so that when you don't know what to do with a paper or folder you leave it on your desk until later.
On the emotional level, it is important to become aware of the feelings associated with completion or incompletion. Maybe you have a fear of completion, because you are concerned that it will be judged as being wrong or inadequate (by yourself or others). Or maybe you get agitated while working and this causes you to take a break to get something to eat, make a phone call or look at emails which causes you to break your flow and leave things unfinished. So, you can go to classes to learn better ways to be organized, but until you address the mental and emotional issues involved, you may be repeating the same problems over and over again.
Methods to Raise Conscious and Develop Critical Thinking:
- Read books aimed at raising consciousness. Loyalty to Your Soul is a good way to start.
- Take workshops aimed at raising consciousness. We offer two different ones, Rapid Culture Change and Facilitation Mastership.
- Identify a coach, mentor or therapist who by being in their presence raises your consciousness and critical thinking perspectives. An indicator for this is the experience of greater inner peace, alignment within yourself, loving of yourself and others, and the ability to see situations differently than you experienced in the past. Note: Sometimes the process of getting to the described experience above is disturbing.
- Identify someone you know who you admire and thinks differently than you. It is preferred that it be someone who is not in your technical area of expertise or someone who has risen beyond their technical expertise and thinks in a more expansive manner. Ask yourself how they might perceive a situation or how they might respond to a challenge to find a way to "do it differently" outside of your typical routine response.
- When you are triggered by a situation or have a problem to be resolved, put yourself in someone else's "shoes" and imagine how they would view the problem or situation. Then, repeat that for multiple people. Then, imagine you are above the problem looking down at it and all the connecting parts of it. What do you see that you didn't see before?
- Before going to bed, ask for a solution to come to you during the night. I have often used this method to wake up with solutions I would not have thought of in my "analysis" of the situation.
- One final method that can be quite fun, is look at the situation from a child's point of view. If nothing else, it may cause you to laugh at the situation instead of taking it too seriously.
Mark Samuel, CEO
IMPAQ
7785 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323 969 0088
contactus@impaqcorp.com