The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

It could be terribly frustrating working for a boss who does not listen to your input. And if you think it is the worst, then you are in for more disappointments when you find out that the very same boss repeats his mistakes over and over again. These leaders do exist.

And while this kind of leader might be able to produce short-run results, true growth requires something more long-term. And this works for both personal and business life, too.

Let these blinks show you how conscious leaders are far better at presenting commitment and open communication.

You’ll learn

Why being a hero is not always a good thing
Truly conscious leaders welcome emotion
How impersonating your mother can work wonders for the company atmosphere.

There are two kinds of leaders: conscious and unconscious.

Having a stressful atmosphere at work or poor relationship in personal lives can hinder success. Despite this, many leaders think of themselves as successful in their niche.

True contentment should not be jeopardized in the name of success. And the way to do so is through leading a conscious life.

A person has two options in both living and leading—conscious or unconsciously. Unconscious leaders do not adapt well to changes, and they opt to stick to old patterns and models despite negative results. As a result, they consider themselves as victims of outside circumstances.

While conscious leaders do better at learning from whatever situation they are in and hold the power to change their current state. These leaders know that conscious leading is a state of mind that they can enter any given time.

But how?

If you stay the truest you could with yourself and the current position you are in, you may be able to live and lead consciously. Living unconsciously may not cause that much harm when you are happy. But being a leader who fosters creative energy and wants to cultivate strong relationships, honesty matters.

You can be a conscious leader by using these 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. These are statements about your present reality and not promises for the future. By committing, you can assess whether you are a conscious or unconscious leader.

Conscious leaders take full responsibility for themselves.

These first two commitments are the core of conscious leadership. The first one suggests taking full responsibility for every area of your life—both work and personal. Always hold yourself accountable for your actions.

An unconscious CEO would look for something to blame when, say, quarterly numbers do not match the projected figures. This type of leader would either show up as the victim, hero or the villain, depending on the situation.

When a problem arises, villain leaders point fingers while hero leaders will thrive hard to keep their hands full despite their lack of ability to fulfill everything. And, of course, victim leaders will blame the problems to the unjust ruling of the world and its balance. But not conscious leaders—the type of leaders that commit themselves to take full responsibility for their actions.

Conscious leaders stay curious as well. Curiosity is the second commitment this type of leader makes in order to progress knowledge rather than pushing a point down someone’s throat. Seizing mistakes as learning opportunities is a priority for conscious leaders instead of being stubbornly defensive.

Conscious leaders are committed to accepting their feelings and learning from them.

Conscious leaders are adept learners. They view themselves as a student of the environment and their personal experiences. They explore their own feelings as part of the learning process. And this attribute gives way to the third commitment of a conscious leader—not resisting emotions.

Sure, a workplace has little space for emotions, but thinking with just the head is an attribute unconscious leaders possess. They repress their feelings and resist them, which only causing a recycling of these emotions. And as a negative result, they get stuck in this mean cycle of bad feelings left unaddressed.

But conscious leaders acknowledge these emotions as the source of wisdom. If he feels anger, then it is a sign that something is not harmonious. And on the contrary, if he feels joy, then things are going smoothly.

Emotions—unlike how unconscious leaders view them—are rather powerful tools that can be used to surpass obstacles or create a harmonious working environment.

Conscious leaders communicate openly and honestly.

Communication is the priority of the next two commitments.

Fourth commitment—speak and listen thoroughly. Considering another point of view is a strong point a conscious leader possess. And this idea is not helpful when trying to get a well-rounded picture of a situation. Do not let fear or shame hold you back from getting as many points as you can from others who could be of help.

Feeling disrespected by others often root from pulling back emotions. And this creates conflict, which unconscious leaders often avoid. But conscious ones listen carefully without filtering any clues about what the others truly feel.

The next commitment made by conscious leaders is avoiding gossip. Gossips are often founded in lies, and conscious leaders know this type of widespread notion is not healthy in any working environment. Trust is often hindered by toxic gossips that spread like wildfire in an office. This creates negative energy for the person gossiping, the person listening, and the victim of the gossip.

Conscious leaders have integrity and show appreciation for the important people in their lives.

Living a life of integrity—the sixth commitment of a conscious leader.

A dishonest leader is poisonous. When his team cannot rely upon his honesty, it tends to demoralize the whole team. And integrity works well with taking full responsibility for own actions, speaking truthfully, and expressing emotions in an open manner. And finally, keeping your word.

Breaking promises no matter how big or small can create negative energy in the group. Negotiation is the key when keeping a deal is almost impossible. And when you do need to cancel, ask how you can make it up to that person.

Being more appreciative is the seventh commitment of a conscious leader. Show appreciation for your employees and, in turn, you get appreciation back. This way, you discern their uniqueness. As a result, you could give much-deserved credits. Just like only a wine enthusiast can tell the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay, an appreciative leader can tell the special uniqueness his employees possess.

Doing things you do not enjoy putting you in the zone of incompetence. You may be good at it, but you would not feel truly fulfilled. And when you do a task you are extremely good at but not enjoy, you are in the zone of excellence. Sure, you produce fantastic work, but you are not being creative.

Staying in these zones will be limiting ourselves. Being a conscious leader means spending time in the zone of genius. These leaders enjoy a more fun approach to work while working hard, which promotes creativity and playful manner of working.

The CFO of Hopelab Inc. presented the quarterly financials while impersonating his mother’s Irish accent, which got his people’s attention big time.

For conscious leaders, life is abundant.

Finding inner peace and happiness is the focus of the next three commitments.

Being open to interpretations aside your own—tenth commitment. Conscious leaders know that no experience is solely good or bad. It all depends on how we perceive them.

This is the reason behind conscious leaders striving to gain alternative understandings of their environment. Turn Inc.’s founder, Jim Barnett, reached the point of wanting to break free from working in business; however, he felt irresponsible by considering leaving his positon.

He received help from the authors to realize the opposite. Leaving his position would allow someone with the right passion to take over.

The eleventh commitment is finding the internal security, control, and approval. Most of the time, we desire over something that guarantees us approval, control, or security coming from the outside world. A conscious leader knows it is natural to want these three things, but constantly obsessing over them is the opposite. Conscious leaders know how to appreciate the security, control, and approval they possess in their hands.

Recognizing what is enough is the twelfth commitment. Appreciating abundancy of what you already have and living in the moment with content is a conscious leader’s attainment.

Conscious leaders are always learning and looking for new solutions to the problems around them.

The thirteenth commitment is seeing everyone and everything as a potential tool for personal growth.

While unconscious leaders consider people and circumstances as roadblocks in the path towards success, conscious leaders understand that these things contribute in achieving greatness.

The fourteenth commitment is creating situations where everyone gets to bring home the bacon. At the end of the day, competition is never the only key to winning.

When the authors invested in The Conscious Leadership Group, their colleague, Kaley, wanted to spend more time with her newborn daughter. Instead of grabbing the chance to get a head start on Kaley due to her situation, they talked things through to make it work for everybody. As a result, their partnership was strengthened to full lengths.

Conscious leaders commit to being the solution to the problem, not bearers of negativity. They do not look at the glass half empty, but rather hall full.

Final Summary

A way of living fulfilling professional and personal lives is conscious leadership. Continuous learning about yourself and your environment, staying open to fresh ideas and taking full responsibility for your own actions benefit you and the people that surround you.

Actionable advice:

Choose to stay happy.

Whenever you experience something great and you feel good, partner it up with an ordinary but productive task. Say, you just got a raise today, wash the dishes when you get home. This way, you get to trick yourself that happiness and success are two normal things that exist, so you can be happier.