The Soulful Executive
Leading from Deep Wisdom
Our Blog
By Paul Werder on November 2, 2012
Leadership is in Every One of Us
Some CEOs have it and others do not. Office managers and plumbers express leadership better than their bosses at times. If it isn’t a function of title or hierarchical position, what is the key to leadership? It is a way of being. Sometimes we experience this way of being and sometimes we don’t. But we know that it is in every one of us. And we can intentionally develop a leadership way of being – if we are willing to acknowledge our unique talents and risk expressing them.
Our yearlong leadership program involves a process of self-selection that invites those who are willing to uncover their potential as leaders to step up…to explore their strengths and weaknesses…to stand up for their core values…and to discover the amazing strength in their own hearts. Recently we launched a new journey with twelve people willing to take this challenge. Their ages ranged from twenty-something to fifty-something. There were executives and mid-level managers. Corporations, non-profits, and government were all represented. One person managed herself and another person managed a weekly $2.5 million payroll.
They were very different on the outside, but on the inside they were the same. They all had strong, beautiful hearts longing for purpose and contribution. They all were open to the possibility of deepening their spiritual connection in their own unique way. They were all willing to be vulnerable and authentic in a room of people they had just met. And they were rewarded for taking this journey in a profound way. They discovered that leadership is, indeed, in every one of us.
Continue reading “Leadership is in Every One of Us”
Posted in Heart-centered Leadership, Hope, Purposeful Leadership, Self Awareness, Spirituality in Business |
By Paul Werder on June 27, 2012
We all long to work in an environment that flourishes with prosperity. Prosperity that nurtures our souls as well as our financial needs. The key is your relationship to your core values.
We are affiliates of the Barrett Values Centre, an internationally recognized leader in making the connection between the health of your business and your values, culture, and leadership consciousness. The Values Centre’s Cultural Transformation Tools (CTT) are currently being used in 60 countries to support more than 3,000 organizations and leaders in their transformational journeys.
The fundamental principle is you can best manage and change what you can measure. The Values Centre’s tools allow you to measure and manage your organizational values along a full spectrum organizational consciousness model that was derived from Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. The organizational consciousness model is comprised of seven levels that are all necessary for a healthy, fully contributing business culture. Levels 1, 2 and 3 (Survival, Relationship, Self-Esteem) are focused on caring for one’s own needs, while levels 5, 6, and 7 (Internal Cohesion, Making a Difference, Service) are focused on finding meaning and caring for societal needs. Level 4 (Transformation) focuses on continuous renewal, learning, empowerment, innovation, and leadership development. As an organization measures and manages their values along these 7levels of consciousness, there is a reduction in wasted effort (entropy) and improvement in financial performance.
How does the Values Management Process Work?
Continue reading “A Flourishing Business is Built on Values”
Posted in Uncategorized |
By Dan Duggan on April 12, 2012
In Part I of Struggle is Unnecessary, we learned that the struggle comes from denying what upsets us by pretending it’s not that bad and ignoring the physical, emotional, and mental cues that signal we need to pay attention.
How are you doing in noticing your cues ?
For some people it’s the pain in the neck, stiffness in the shoulders, queasy stomach, or ache in the heart. For others, the most noticeable cue is the anger, fear, or sadness they feel, or the monkey mind that spins and spins resisting the event or thought that triggered their upset.
Continue to notice and, I recommend, write down your cues for a few weeks so your awareness increases. Once you are aware that this upset needs your attention, you are ready to do something about it.
So here’s Part II
Accept fully that you are where you are. Allow yourself to experience the physical pain and especially the uncomfortable emotions that accompany what upset you. I’m not asking you to wallow in the “bad place”, rather stay in it long enough to really feel the impact. Once there, trace back through those emotions to the source of the upset – the thought or event that triggered your reaction.
What bugs you about it? Why is it upsetting? Declare the problem with what happened.
Many people stop at this step and try to fix themselves or someone else they see as the “Problem”. Stopping here to “fix” won’t transform your relationship to the problem and get you back in balance.
Instead – keep going. Continue reading “Struggle is Unnecessary Part II”
Posted in Accessing Inner Wisdom, Faith and Action, Heart-centered Leadership, Life Changing Lessons, Self Awareness |
By Dan Duggan on March 21, 2012
When they hear me say struggle is unnecessary most people look at me skeptically. “What about ‘no pain, no gain’ and ‘adversity builds character’? There is truth in those maxims, but that’s not the struggle I’m talking about.
When you experience an event or thought that you don’t like, don’t want, or don’t know what to do with, you are automatically struggling on the inside with that uncomfortable feeling. That thought or event evoked a connection to something in your past that you (mostly unconsciously) believe points to something unpleasant in your future. Then the emotion hits – dread, shame, anger, confusion, sadness, loneliness, for example.
If you’re human like me, your first reaction is “get me out of here; I didn’t sign up for this”. In other words, make this thing that already happened go away. Bummer, you can’t. It already happened. So give me someone or something to blame then, because this shouldn’t be happening. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!
Next, you might start to rationalize. “It’s not that bad”. “I shouldn’t be so upset”. “If I ignore it, it will go away”. All forms of stuffing it somewhere to avoid that awful feeling. Works for awhile, but…….
Sound familiar?
Yep, me too.
So here’s the unnecessary part - Continue reading “Struggle is Unnecessary…..Part I”
Posted in Hope, Life Changing Lessons, Self Awareness |
By Dan Duggan on March 2, 2012
I was talking with a friend the other day about taking risks. He said something really important.
“You cannot fully commit to stepping into the unknown without having one foot firmly in the certainty that you’ll be OK no matter the outcome”.
True leadership requires both – commitment to a course of action while staying grounded in trust that your heart will show you the next right move when the time comes as long as you remain true to your values.
“But what if I make a mistake?”, you ask.
Call it a bonus when that happens (notice I didn’t say if). Mistakes are opportunities to learn something new about yourself; a chance to examine what was missing, if anything, in what led to your original decision; or a time to affirm that when mistakes occur, you are strong enough to weather them.
LionHeart’s definition of leadership is venturing into the unknown. The courage, strength, and wisdom to take that leap comes from the constant remembrance of the Divine’s endless sufficiency, provision, and love.
Posted in Accessing Inner Wisdom, Commitment, Faith and Action, Heart-centered Leadership, Purposeful Leadership, Spirituality in Business |
By Dan Duggan on December 14, 2011
As I’m sure you already know, Steve Jobs, creative genius behind Apple, passed away recently. I was certainly aware of the results of his work having been an Apple user for many years now. What I wasn’t aware of was who Jobs was; what drove him; how his experiences shaped him. I’m curious by nature so I purchased a copy of his just published biography by Walter Issacson.
I’m not very far into it yet, but the sense I have of Steve Jobs was that he was special and knew it. This both helped and hindered him. He did not compromise on what he passionately believed in , although sometimes not very gracefully or respectfully.
One of those passionate beliefs was to follow his heart and intuition wherever it led him. During a commencement address at Stanford in 2005 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc) about a year after he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Jobs spoke about his life, lessons learned, and death. I was truly inspired by his words:
“Don’t lead someone else’s life”.
We all have a purpose in this life. At it’s core, that purpose is to know yourself. It is your purpose, not someone else’s version of what your purpose is. This resonates deeply with me because I spent decades trying to “be” what I thought other people wanted me to be. Those clothes did not fit well. I am grateful every day for the grace I’ve been given to just be me.
It is not easy. It takes courage, trust, and persistence. The rewards are great.
When you pursue your own unique God-given purpose – without settling, without compromising your values – you will find peace and freedom. You will find the work you love and make the contribution you are here to make. You will spend your time wisely and joyfully. You will find fulfillment.
Today, when you look in the mirror, ask yourself: Who’s life am I living today?
If the answer is “not mine”, it’s time for a change; time to take a chance.
Peace and blessings,
Dan
Posted in Commitment, Gratitude, Life Changing Lessons, Purposeful Leadership |
By Paul Werder on December 6, 2011
Rose Holden is a CEO of a small family business who took our yearlong leadership program in 2007. She recently wrote to us, “I still find it amazing that your program has had such an effect on my life.” Michael Biehler is a successful realtor, who says, “In December of 2001 I embarked on your 12 month program after having been in real estate for nine years prior with only average sales. I set my goal to double my business over the next twelve months and not only did I achieve that goal but increased my volume every year for the next 5 years. Since the recession my last 3 years have been back to average, but this year I’ll almost double over 2010. I attribute this to some of the methods learned in LionHeart’s leadership program: staying extremely positive, overcoming a fear of success, and be willing to go all out for my clients while still maintaining a high level of integrity and honesty.”
Why does our work have such a lasting impact when the notebooks from other programs often become impressive “credenza-ware?”
It’s a simple answer. Enduring impact requires three components: results, enhanced skills, and a new way of being. If you focus simply on results you may achieve short term gains but the methodologies can often have toxic side effects or simply become outdated. If you simply add new skills you will often hear people say, “Sure, I know what the right thing to do is, but I just can’t do it.”
Your way of being is the active ingredient that provides the enduring ability to learn, adapt, and produce results in a way that improves relationships and expands your network of credibility. How do we address this “way of being” thing?”
Again, it is a simple answer, but not an easy assignment.
Continue reading “Lasting Impact”
Posted in Commitment, Goal Setting, Heart-centered Leadership, Purposeful Leadership |
By Paul Werder on November 5, 2011
I am working with the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at Case Western University with a handful of academic and professional colleagues on a very inspiring assignment.
The Fowler Center board has endorsed a “focus on spirituality as an essential component of the Center’s mission…to help leaders capitalize on new profitable business opportunities to solve the world’s growing social and environmental problems.” This is a magnificent insight into our current reality with clear acceptance of where the sustainability movement is today. And we are encountering our humanity as we move forward: there is trepidation in even using the word “spirituality” in our written work. For me, this is a natural expression of our human emotions as we face up to our current reality of what’s needed in the world. Of course we will encounter our subtle fears!
Thankfully, part of our task is to “define spirituality in a way that falls within the mandate of a management school and makes it highly accessible for business people everywhere.” What a magnificent intention! But when we arrive at a “highest intention” that promotes the possibility of everyone receiving the most good as an outcome of our efforts, we inevitably hit obstacles.
I see three primary obstacles. Spirituality is a taboo subject in business and a charged word for many people that can cause separation…so we must define it in an inclusive manner that brings people together…and like the word love, it is such an expansive and multifaceted experience that words and definitions cannot do justice to it. So we could stop there, declare spirituality a taboo, undefinable word and try to come up with a better word to use…and get on with our work.
Or, we could consult our hearts and see if there is any wisdom available to guide us through these obstacles.
Continue reading “Talking About Spirituality in Business”
Posted in Faith and Action, Spirituality in Business |
By Paul Werder on October 28, 2011
With many of us in my 60 something generation facing the retirement questions that our new economy never anticipated, we need to look at things from a new perspective.
Financial security on the High Road has always been a function of contributing to society in a way that adds real value to the quality of people’s lives. It’s never been, for many of us, a function of how much money we have stashed away for the time “we no longer need to work for our living.” We love our work and don’t want to stop contributing. The challenging new economy may now be supporting you to keep contributing as a necessity, in addition to the opportunity it has always been. Many of us can’t afford to stop working even if we wanted to.
But we often notice we can’t get away with working as hard as we used to. We need more rest on weekends and an easier schedule after returning from our business trips. So the age question arises: how long can I keep doing what I love to do?
Well, that depends. It depends on physical wellness and stamina to be sure. But isn’t that dependent upon attitude and being young at heart? We think so; in fact, we’re counting on it!
Is counting on it enough or is there more to it?
Continue reading “How Old Are You?”
Posted in Commitment, Hope, Life Changing Lessons, Purposeful Leadership, Self Awareness |
By Paul Werder on October 19, 2011
One of our clients is very gifted and no stranger to winning awards in an industry that is highly competitive. His track record, beginning with being voted class president as a senior in both high school and college, is one stellar accomplishment after another – for several decades.
He has a great heart and his work opens the hearts of others. But, he has one little problem.
His ego gets in his way occasionally. It’s easy to let our success go to our head. What we see time and time again is that eventually, the unhealthy aspects of our egos catch up with us. He knows this is true because he has a number of incredible projects just about to break loose. Meanwhile the financial constriction called “not yet” is creating a great deal of duress.
This is all good news, of course… because…he has a deep awareness that something has always been holding him back from his most important contributions. And now he has the opportunity to clean up the unhealthy aspects of his ego and put his emphasis on what he is referring to as his inner journey. The financial constriction has him boxed in with no alternative: surrender the tinges of grandiosity that have him envisioning accomplishments that never happen, or go through an embarrassing financial breakdown.
Now, all successful people who are experiencing financial challenges are not struggling due to grandiosity – not at all. We only found the key to his breakthrough because we knew where to go looking. We knew there was a spiritual lesson of immense importance that was eluding him. He calls it humility and I believe he’s on the right track, because after a handful of coaching sessions, this magnificent human being landed a new project offering more prosperous times. After all, he’s a guy with a great heart – and now he’s learning how to rely on it.
We’re rooting for him because now he has a new dilemma: Does he want temporary relief from that troublesome ego so he can get back to business as usual? Or, does he want a turning point he will never look back from? If he wants the latter, he’ll embark upon an amazing lifelong journey that begins in the heart and leads to unprecedented contribution – not business as usual.
How about you? What are you up for?
Posted in Accessing Inner Wisdom, Commitment, Heart-centered Leadership, Life Changing Lessons |
Subscribe via RSS