Pivot leadership
I have had so many varied first-time conversations in the last three weeks both in the professional and personal realm. And here’s the thing, in all of them, I could tell who was fully present in the conversation and who was not. I could also tell who was secure in their skin and who was not.
This applies to me too. I know when I am fully present in a conversation and when something is keeping me from being fully present. Deep listening can only happen when we are fully present. I have a deep sense of self but even that gets a bit of a shake sometimes. I am human 😊
This week I want to spend some time talking about pivot leadership.
But first my back story.
My aim, when working with organisations, is to humanise them. By that, I mean to help leaders within organisations be more human; empathetic and empowered. To feel secure in themselves to make the right decisions even when the odds seem stacked against them. To be able to rise above their self-limiting beliefs to deliver what is needed in the moment.
This applies to life too. Empathy and empowerment are much needed in our personal lives.
But we cannot empathise and empower when we are not fully present.
By fully present I mean with others and with ourselves! I believe we can’t be fully present with others until we are fully present with ourselves!
What do I mean by fully present?
I have written about this before, so I shall summarise it here. Our brains keep us in autopilot mode to save time and resources. So that we can do things without thinking. But to be fully present we need to go to ‘manual’, to get off autopilot. So we can make sense of our thoughts, emotions, and intuition. This requires us to slow down or stop for a short period - 2 to 5 minutes. This is especially needed when we go from one meeting or conversation to another. Which is a daily occurrence for most of us.
If we don’t pause, we can take our ‘baggage’ from one meeting to the next, and by the end of the day we become too tired or worse still, unapproachable. And remember, as humanised leaders we want to be more empathetic and empowered.
I have had clients tell me that they need to find the ‘right time’ to talk to their superior, CEO, or tough client. For fear of catching them in a ‘bad mood’. I read ‘bad mood’ as unnecessary ‘baggage’ that has been carried along the day. Not conducive for the leader or the people around them.
That’s where pivot leadership comes in.
A phrase invented by a retired (army) general who Amishi Jha writes about in her book Peak Mind. When she asked the retired general his thoughts on a common feature of incredibly successful individuals, his answer was pivot leadership. The ability to clear all residue from the last event, meeting, or gathering before the next one.
There is no ‘baggage’ carried from one meeting, or event to the next. It requires taking a moment to complete/process old tasks, thoughts, and emotions then fully shifting our attention to the new task, conversation.
It’s not easy but can be made a habit through practise.
A practise of stopping after every meeting/conversation to check in with yourself. If there are any residual thoughts, feelings, or ‘niggles’, make a note of them. If things did not go well in the meeting or conversation that still has your attention acknowledge them (write it down). Address them when you get a chance, later.
Though I have a practise of my own, there are times when I struggle to ‘drop the baggage’. But I have become more aware and can catch myself not being fully present.
You too can start your pivot leadership practise today. You will find it helpful for yourself and those around you will benefit too. Include a ritual, a mindful routine, to your practise such as taking 5 deep breaths, looking at a plant, taking a quick walk, etc.
That way you can call upon your ritual before your next meeting or conversation.
That’s pivot leadership. Happy pivoting!
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com