Developing Our Sage Perspective…

The best leaders just ‘ARE’.  It isn’t so much about what they ‘DO’ and what skills they have developed, but more about the way in which they consistently hold themselves, mentally and emotionally – and I don’t mean outward ‘charisma’ which is hard to define.  That isn’t to say we can’t develop ourselves to become great leaders.  Of course we can, by developing ourselves and our mental and emotional ‘fitness’.  Too many people when going for a senior role think about developing the skills of ‘doing’ and don’t pay enough attention to their ‘being’.  We improve our leadership skills by improving our mindset and emotional intelligence.  It’s one of the reasons I think Positive Intelligence PQ programme and the Resilient Leaders Elements Development Programme are so effective because they tap into both. 

One of the most powerful ways of influencing our mental and emotional fitness is through the use of Positive Intelligence and the idea of using our Sage perspective when facing challenges.  The Sage perspective understands that ‘it just is what it is, who knows whether it is good or bad?’, to detach some of the emotion, whether high or low, from a situation we are dealing with.  The moral lesson of ‘the farmer and the horse’ can teach us much here.

As explained in previous blogs, whether we’re a seasoned leader or aspiring to become one, we must first recognise that our Saboteurs (negative thought patterns) get in the way of us being an extraordinary leader, identify them when they come up, and decrease their power over us using PQ reps, or ‘mindfulness on the move’. Then we must learn to use our Sage Powers to become more impactful.  Powerful leadership uses influence not power, and every Sage Power increases our ability to influence and “inspire others into effective action to achieve shared goals” to quote Shirzad Chamine, founder and CEO of Positive Intelligence®.  So we must learn how to tap into our Sage Powers to lead effectively.

Our Sage Powers are our positive self, and using this perspective we are able to see that we can convert every problem or challenge into a gift or opportunity.  The five Sage Powers — Empathise, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate — help us handle life's challenges with a more positive mindset. Mental fitness is the ability to quiet our Saboteurs and tap into our Sage Powers.

Empathise is about feeling and showing appreciation, compassion and forgiveness, both to ourselves and others.  The deeper our empathy to ourselves, typically the deeper empathy we can have for others.  For most people empathy for ourselves is the hardest thing because our Judge and Saboteurs get in the way.  We can cultivate this by peeling back the layers of protection we have put around ourselves and remembering our true essence as a child.

Explore has a purity of energy and emotion and is based in curiosity, openness, wonder and fascination with what is being explored.  Asking ourselves what more we can discover when faced with a problem helps us to understand it more fully before we come to conclusions and devise solutions or take actions. 

Where explore is looking at what is, Innovate concerns inventing what isn’t.  It’s concerned with finding the 10% of what you can agree with before the Judge creeps in, and then coming up with new ideas to take things forward positively together.

Navigate is only used when multiple paths are available, some of which may be more aligned than others with our sense of values, purpose or meaning. We use this when we’re feeling stuck, to chart a path, by looking from the perspective of our future-selves.

Activate moves us into pure action where all our mental and emotional energies are laser focused upon action without the procrastination, distraction or interference caused by the Saboteurs by pre-empting their actions.

All of these can be applied as individual leaders, or as a team.  Cultivating our Sage perspective helps us to be better leaders by enhancing our emotional intelligence and mental fitness.  The PQ programme focuses upon building habits and mental muscles, not just giving us insights.  Of course it takes some work and dedication, but the benefits are clear. 

Survey results from a cohort of more than 2,000 PQ Program participants after six weeks of mental fitness training show that 98% of participants experience EQ growth. Participants report improvements in each of the following categories:

·       90% use mental/emotional energy more effectively

·       92% are better at teamwork and collaboration

·       85% increase their happiness

·       91% manage stress better

·       83% improve their self-confidence

·       84% are better at conflict management

Sounds good doesn’t it?  So, let’s get that mental muscle ‘fit’ and develop our emotional intelligence in order to be the best leaders possible.

Reflection:

How ‘sage’ are you?

What situations are you currently dealing with that would benefit from you taking a more ‘sage perspective’?

Which of the Sage Powers are you most curious about or think would benefit you the most?

Which of the benefits would you most like to see in yourself?

Contact us to find out more…