From Unconscious to Conscious Leadership

I have been meaning to write about Conscious Business by Fred Koffman for a long time, but it had to happen today. I got introduced to Fred's book last Navratri, when Hemang gifted it to me.

I read it and I feel deeply in love with the book, for the principles that Fred talks in his book resonate very deeply with me and some of them - unconditional responsiblity, emotional mastery etc are common themes that we teach in APEX and other Art of Living programs as well.

If you have not read this book, do yourself a favor, buy yourself a copy, it will be one of the best professional and personal investments you would ever make.

Fred writes:

Success in business requires dealing with human beings, which is to say conscious beings. This book presents the basic principles and skills needed to deal with people while honoring their conscious nature. Although this is helpful for anybody who works, it is fundamental for those who manage and lead others. Great leadership is conscious leadership. 

Before diving into the principles of conscious leadership, Fred outlines,  outstandingly, as to what constitutes Unconscious business:

1) In terms of attitudes, three things

a) Unconscious Blame: The tendency to explain all difficulties exclusively as the consequence of forces beyond your influence, to see yourself as an absolute victim of external circumstances.

b) Essential Selfishness: is the exclusive focus on ego gratification, without the concern for the well being of others.

c) Ontological arrogance: is the claim that things are the way you see them, that your truth is the only truth. It is the belief that the only valid perspective is the one you hold, and that anybody who sees things differently is mistaken.

2) In terms of behaviours:

a) Manipulative communication: is the choice to withhold relevant information in order to get what you want. Those who communicate maninpulatively seek to pursue their personal agenda above all else.

b) Narcissistic negotiation: is the attempt to prove your worth by beating up your opponents. The narcissist's primary goal is not to achieve what he wants, but to show the other "who's the boss".

c) Negligent coordination: is a careless way to collaborate, making promises without a serious committment to honor them.

3) In terms of Reactions

a) Emotional Incompetence: manifests in two ways: explosion and repression. The first is acting out your feelings, indulging in counterproductive behaviours that only serve to discharge your emotional impluses. The second is hiding your feelings behind a facade of stoicism, pretending that nothing is going on while you are seething inside.

Fred writes:.

Culture is best described as the standard beliefs and expectations of "how we do things around here". Culture develops from the messages that group members receive about how they are expected to behave. It comprises shared goals, beliefs, routines, needs, or values. Cultures exist in all groups, from corporations to sport clubs, from schools to families.

Developing a conscious culture is a business imperative. Culture undergrids an organization. It enables the execution of the organization's strategy, the achievement of its goals, and the fullfilment of its mission....at the core of every productive culture are the seven qualities of conscious business. These qualities are rare in people, but they are even rarer in organizations. Establishing them as the organizational way of doing things require a cultural change.

To change a culture, the leaders have to change the messages people receive about what they must do to fit in.....A small change in senior managers behavior can send a big message....

The good news is that a cultural change inevitably leads to an organizational change. If the leadership can change people's belief about "the way things are done in this organization" things will definitely be done differently.

The bad news is that changing a culture is exceedingly difficult. Culture is not something that leaders can change by decree. They can only reshape it through new behaviors. The chicken-and-egg problem is that leadership behaviors are strongly determined by the existing culture. Furthermore, those who have reached leadership positions are the ones who thrived in the old culture. How cab they lead the organization away from the patterns that helped them succeed? Only through a change in consciousness. The spark that ignites a process of cultural change is a change in the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of top management: in other words, a shift from unconscious to conscious leadership.