ARTICLES ON CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP

Effectively fake or trustworthy presentations – October 3, 2018 No one doubts that the ability to communicate well orally is considered a crucial skill effective leaders should master. We see an extensive offer out there of consultants and other professionals selling different types of training courses and tips on the art of persuading and connecting with an audience. The problem is that in most cases the sole focus of the training and preparation is exclusively placed on the HOW and not the WHAT. How to convey your message more effectively, how to engage your audience, how to use your non-verbal... Read More

A self-aware leader is the one who marvels at the role luck has played in their life. – August 11, 2018 It is never a good idea to assume superiority as a result of your accomplishments, regardless of how impressive they may look to the external world. First and foremost, because nothing is permanent, and any accomplishment and the perks that come with it only describe a temporary situation someone happens to be in. That is why it is a good idea to practice in our minds the genuine possibility that this might all go away. Because sooner or later... Read More

The inflexible Americans and the disorganized latinos. – July 19, 2018 The consciousness of time is a distinctive characteristic of human beings that separates us from all other living creatures. However, the way time is actually perceived and cherished varies significantly across cultures, and it is a consequence of a deeply rooted set of values and experiences in each society. Moreover, a low level of awareness of the reasons behind the different behaviors each culture manifest around time management often leads to easy stereotyping and translates into intense friction at the global workplace. The shape of time. Western societies are... Read More

The Cost Of Life – June 21, 2018 This June, some 203 years ago, the British, Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian troops defeated Napoleon in the famous Battle of Waterloo. This magnificent victory put an end to the tyrant rule of Napoleon as the emperor of France and ended 20 years of conflict in Europe. Even though It was a superb achievement, the Duke of Wellington’s immortal comments were «Well, thank God, I don’t know what it is to lose a battle; but certainly, nothing can be more painful than to gain one with the loss of so many friends.» His... Read More

Adam Smith – The Father of Conscious Capitalism – June 5, 2018 This month of June we celebrate the birth of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith, born in 1723. Famous for his «invisible hand» theory, something he briefly mentions just once in the middle of his book The Wealth of Nations, he gets remembered as the father of free-market capitalism. He is mistakenly credited with being an adamant defender of the power of self-interest just because in the opening paragraph of his book, he says that bakers and butchers operate their businesses over rational self-interest rather than... Read More

Lack of Purpose – February 27, 2018 When I first met Richard, one of his major complaints was about his ever-demanding boss, who never seemed to be content with what Richard did. Yes, there were those empty praises, such as, “Terrific job!” and, “Well done!” and the like, but Richard perceived that they were delivered in the same tone and with the same facial gestures as when his supervisor would ask about the weather or the time. I once asked Richard what he worked for (I was afraid that asking about a purpose would paralyze him), and he remained speechless.... Read More

Can job-hopping become an endless loop? – February 13, 2018 A recent Gallup report on the Millennial generation reveals that 21% of people born between 1980 and 1996 have changed their jobs within the past year. Millennials’ level of engagement in the workplace is the lowest of all generations, and only three in ten are emotionally and behaviorally connected to their jobs and companies. In fact, 60% of them admit that they are permanently hunting for new positions. And even within the older generations, the figures are not that different. This job-hopping behavior reminds me of the difference between being... Read More

 How successful is a successful professional – February 13, 2018 Many times the image of glamour successful people project, acts as a shield that hides the sad truth of what their lives actually are and how fragile their self-esteem is. Climbing the corporate ladder and winning higher status many times produce the opposite effect of what a fulfilling life should be. Alongside the perks and privileges, people lose control over their time and themselves. They can no longer express their more spontaneous but vulnerable selves. Their words are so consequential because they need to be guarded at all times; they... Read More

Applying the Socratic method to executive coaching January 16, 2018 Life without examination is not worth living. This quote from the famous philosopher can easily be translated in the corporate world when, as a leader, one needs to coach people. The ultimate object of this process is to teach people how to act and think for themselves. Is that they become leaders of themselves. Is to rev up the minds of those with whom we work together. The goal then is not the destination but the journey. And the Socratic questioning is a very useful tool we can use. Even... Read More

Work satisfaction January 2, 2018 Several studies have shown that the experience of work is not always great. Most of us will spend 100,000 hours of our lives at work, and over half of our waking hours of our entire lives will probably be in some work. But only 10% of Americans report that they are even engaged in their work, which means that 90% of us remain disengaged or actively hostile towards work.So most of us see work as a curse and not a blessing. We experience it as toil, as something fruitless -there is no good that comes... Read More

Facebook narrows our worldview by lowering our level of consciousness December 19, 2017 Imagine you are scrolling through your newsfeed and see a post you perceive it to be untrue or too biased. You simply hit the “unfollow” or “hide post” and bang, it is gone. Based on these reactions, Facebook’s algorithm learns what you like and dislike seeing, starting adapting the contents you receive to your unique interests. You then have the illusion of having this sense of belonging to individuals who share similar purposes. The flipside of receiving news targeted to your views is that you might narrow... Read More

Forecasting and Wishful Thinking December 5, 2017 Many company executives try to predict the future by constructing incredibly elaborate long-term business and career plans -which experience demonstrates- rarely materialize. Several times we pretend to act if the future will be just an outcome of our projections, or even of our desires, where wishful thinking takes the lead. We tend to predict that our estimates –or dreams- would come true. Moreover, confirmation bias seems to pervade the corporate world: we stick to our beliefs by picking whatever facts support them and quickly dismiss contrary evidence. When confronted with the first signals... Read More

The Art Of Public Speaking – Socrates or Sophists? – November 28, 2017 No one doubts that the ability to communicate well orally is considered a crucial skill effective leaders should master. We see an extensive offer out there of consultants and other types of professionals offering different types of training courses and tips on the art of persuading and connecting with an audience. Those of us who have gone through several sessions on making effective presentations, many times can discover the structure behind them. We might even foresee what the presenter’s next moves will be. We listen to a regular... Read More

Stereotyping at the workplace – October 31, 2017 Long way back in 1922, a journalist by the name of Walter Lippmann introduced the word “stereotype” as a metaphor for a mental picture people form based on their cultural notion. The higher the level of multi-cultural awareness a manager has, the lower the risk of pigeonholing employees into perceived cultural traits. It is a natural human tendency when interacting with a different culture, to see the cultural perception first, and the actual individual afterward. Stereotyping at work is a double-edged sword which many times can significantly limit a leader’s ability to manage her... Read More

 Intolerance and ‘one size fits all’ – October 17, 2017 Poseidon, Greek mythology’s God of the Sea, had a son named Procrustes, who occupied a home along the sacred way between Athens and Eleusis where he offered hospitality to passing strangers. He would invite them in for a night’s rest in his iron bed. He bragged that his unique bed would be a perfect fit for anyone who slept upon it. What Procrustes didn’t tell his guests was that if they were too short for the bed, he would stretch them on the rack (“Procrustes” means “the stretcher”) or, if... Read More