Culture & Leadership
Apple. Tree. Again. My curiosity runs deep in this area.
Upon her passing, my dad found a well-worn copy of The Power of Positive Thinking from my grandmother. In my childhood home, conversations often revolved around David Merrill and Roger Reid's Social Styles Model, where my mom’s “Driver” and my dad’s “Analytical” styles were frequently cited as a source of their latest miscommunications. This sparked my curiosity about what drives individuals and teams, leading me to delve deeper into this field.
Here are a few of my go-to resources in my ongoing personal studies.
This is the best leadership I've ever read. I've shared it to PMs who told me they keep it on their desk - and sometimes after a hard situation or a good cry they pull it out and recenter themselves and their path forward. The principles are strong, observable in daily life, and when put into practice will absolutely elevate your well being, impact, and influence. I share other Conscious.IS resources here too - they're that good.
I attended an "Unbridled Ideas" equine coaching program with Janine Davis, from Evolution.team. The night before at my daughter's judo class, a recent immigrant with a PhD in veterinary care from Brazil was trying to explain to me, with a thick accent, how the magnets in the horse's heart are so much bigger than ours. Magnets?! Turns out the electromagnetic field of a horse is 40 feet compared to a human's 7 feet. They are mirrors for energy and emotion. This was a powerful day and I'm sure I'll be more intentionally connecting with the other beautiful beings in my life (dog, kids, husband) with a deeper unsaid understanding of the energy I bring and how it is sensed.
Positive Intelligence - there's an app for that! I had the opportunity to join a few women engineering and CTO leaders in a coaching cohort for Positive Intelligence, a program by Shirzad Chamine. He is a coach, writer, and lecturer at Stanford. This program starts with increasing consciousness especially regarding your judge and saboteurs. Then with consciousness, we learn tools to shift into a more constructive, positive space. I had recently learned of a therapy modality called Internal Family Systems, and there are some common threads between. I enjoyed listening to the trainings with my kids on the way to school, to help them cultivate their awareness. I'm picturing their eyes rolling now...
My first executive coach became Dare to Lead certified, and I jumped at the opportunity to join her for this session. Brené Brown broke the mold introducing the word "vulnerability" in the context of courage. "Rumbling" is now one of my favorite words to hear in a meeting. Invite the rumble. Also I walked away with a "Clear is Kind" keychain. - always a good reminder.
Conscious Leadership Group - Locating Yourself Above or Below the Line. I watch this video probably a couple times a year. I've played it in my staff meeting. If you want to cultivate consciousness among your team to make work more fun, playful, and successful, give this a watch. If you, in that moment, are playing "below the line" it can feel really on the nose (so be warned!). Also, learn from my mistake, I don't recommend using this language in your next argument with your partner. ;)
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier was such a breath of fresh air. Often times, as the coach, we think we need to have the answer and pontificate on our knowledge, experience, and understanding of the laws of the universe. Saying less and asking more leans into the wide open space that curiosity brings. If you're a new manager or leader, try this one. It's a quick read, practical, and applicable probably in your next meeting.
The Drama Triangle - Choosing Drama over Presence. I took the "Intro to Conscious Leadership" course with a co-worker who said to me that this was more impactful than years of therapy. Whenever I share this with others, they presume it's good to be the hero! Spoiler alert, it's not. We're all in the drama triangle all the time, and it takes presence and consciousness to shift into more constructive ways of being.
