Happy Easter! Or?
Happy Easter! Happy Passover!
How are you? How are you doing?
It's springtime, nature comes back to life, the sun warms souls and soil ...
Many celebrate Easter, some Jewish Pesach or Passover, some keep the community machinery up and going, others enjoy the holidays. Days of traditions and symbolism: Christians remember Jesus' death, celebrate His resurrection and life after death. Jews celebrate the liberation from slavery in Egypt which in turn opened for Exodus, a journey to their own land. Hope follows suffering. In my part of the world, nature awakens after a long period of dark hibernation. It’s time for spring cleaning, seed sowing, planting and caring for the garden before summer turns it all into full bloom. The light and the warmth bring hope and joy!
Most people are home now. An invisible little virus has turned our lives upside down. It easily spreads where people meet, bringing sickness and sometimes suffocating death. 'The weak' among us are powerless...
Course: Take control of your own Leadership and Self Development Plan
Are you interested in developing yourself as a leader, whether you are new to the role, experienced or most concerned with how you best can lead yourself?
Then Tekna’s Professional Group for Ethics and Leadership in Oslo invites you to the following Leadership School (Lederskolen) course:
Take control of your own Leadership and Self Development Plan
Thursday 30.01.2020 from 17-21 at ‘Ingeniørenes hus’ in Oslo
(The course is currently planned in Norwegian but we're working on offering it in English on that day or at a later date. See below for information in Norwegian)
As a technologist or leader you know a lot about technology and the more technical aspects of leadership. You also know that increasingly more is required of you in today's reality. You know you need to maintain and improve your leadership skills to meet future challenges. But where do you start? What skills does a leader need? What contributes to successful...
What do you mean .. Conscious Life & Leadership?
You know, many people wonder what I mean with Conscious Life – Conscious Leadership. Perhaps you’re one of them?
Let me give you the essence and top level perspective on how I understand this, and let's see how this resonates with you. But first, let me start with a little story ...
Once upon a time …
Once upon a time lived this little girl, full of vitality, vibrant joy, imagination and curiosity.
As all children, she grew up, adjusted to fit into her family, school and society --- studied
Until one day!
She’d become an engineer. She spent 21 years climbing the corporate ladder in the IT world. She loved her job, had become a nordic and global leader for an international corporation.
Yet she felt empty, frustrated, with no dreams of her own.
She felt as a powerless pawn caught in power games across countries and continents
One Friday afternoon in 2010, she was at a Master of Management program on organisational psychology, had a role in a...
[Dealing with conflicts] How to put your judgment to the test
In the midst of conflicts, many people get caught in their own thoughts and beliefs, believing them to be TRUE.
Here’s a simple 4-steps method I find useful to put our beliefs to the test:
THINK IN DEPTH OF A STRESSFUL SITUATION
Think of a stressful situation involving diverging interests or disagreement. Immerse yourself for a moment in that situation. Don’t try being reflected, distant, positive or even rational.
- In this situation, who makes you angry, confused or disappointed. Why? (XYZ doesn’t listen to me)
- How do you want the other to behave or change?
- Which advice would you give? What should or shouldn’t that person do?
- What do you need – more precisely, what should the other do to make you happy?
- How would you describe that person?
- What in this situation is it that you never ever want to experience again?
So now you have thoroughly judged this person. Don’t forget to note down your thoughts as answers to these...
What has a mouse to do with conflict management?!
Tips: Practical Conflict Management & mental support
What has a little mouse on a coffee cup to do with conflict management
I once had a long awaited mitigation meeting. The objective was determining if there was will, wish and ability to solve a conflict that had escalated to a stage where the next step could be full disrupture and perhaps even worse.
Preparations part I
I had expected this to be a rough one, so I spent a lot of time in advance trying to understand each parties' perspectives, interests and concerns. For this I used one of my frameworks, put down some thoughts of desired best possible outcomes, considered moods to be expected and how to approach it all depending on the moods in the room. All well for the preparations...
Then, just before the meeting, I needed to prepare my own mindset: I needed to be 100% grounded, in control, with any upcoming feelings tamed, so I could focus on reaching some positive result by the end of the meeting.
So, what did I do? And...
Flash Briefings!
"A Conscious Life - Conscious Leadership" Flash Briefings
In these Flash Briefings you'll get tips and inspiration to help you increase your effectiveness as a leader, improve your relations, and achieve sustainable results for yourself, your organisation and your environment. You may even achieve global impact. Consciousness empowers your life.
One of my goals is to bring reflection, depth and energy to the world of leadership, focusing on its most important resource, every single man and woman with the whole complexity and gift of their being. These short briefings are there to inspire you and get you thinking more about your own leadership and life!
How to make sure you get my Flash Briefings, here are 3 options:
1) Let my bot deliver it to you daily (M-F): https://bit.ly/2DufM1d
2) Add the briefing to your Alexa Echo or your Alexa Dot ("Alexa, add A Conscious Life - Conscious Leadership Flash Briefing")
3) Enable "A Conscious Life A Conscious Leadership" on...
Happy New Year 2019! I wish you health, prosperity and lots of love!
Happy New Year 2019! I wish you health, prosperity and lots of love!
New years Eve 2018 … a day to celebrate?
For the first time in my life I don’t feel like celebrating this last evening of the year. This year I’m reflecting on the past, considering what I want to bring along into the new year, and what needs to remain where it is.
Eight years ago, a life transforming travel through hell and back was soon followed by a new way of life and work, bringing so much more joy, satisfaction and meaning than the old ways.
Life is definitely going in the right direction, with vision and intent, my loyal husband, unique sons, a few relatives, close friends, kind neighbours, communities of like-minded people, my meaningful work and not the least captivating in-depth studies of psychology and art therapy.
But something has held me back – too much so!
One of those most important places in life, one that had been a mutual safe haven of belonging, community...
Self- and Leadership Development with Art Therapy?
Is Art Therapy a suitable method for Self-Development, and more specifically for Leaders?
To lead others, you need to start by leading yourself. Leadership development thus starts with self-development.
Art therapy is a powerful yet unexpected and for many an unknown method for leadership and self-development.
Art Therapy gives you a room for active action where you:
- Come in deep contact with your inner world,
- Can unfold and express yourself creatively and innovatively about a theme,
- And enter into a dialogue with the created expression.
- This will often contribute to increased self-awareness, which in turn can lead to change.
Self-Development with Art Therapy opens new and old doors
A few years ago I thought I had enrolled in a weekend course in painting. I was wrong, it was a workshop in art therapy ... That course opened a new world for me!
Art therapy can give you strength, courage, wisdom, joy, immense vitality, and access to aspects of yourself that you had...
Electing leaders
With more than 200 nations across the world there will regularly be election days. Who better to assess for leadership effectiveness than candidates for presidency, prime ministers or other heads of states. We would want the best!
It would be quite interesting to have a look at all these candidates based on a proven universal model for leadership. Let's have a try with a price winning 360 deep leadership assessment tool.
The Leadership Circle Profile
The Leadership Circle Profile (TLC) is based on such a model, which itself is founded on more than 30 years of research and best practice derived from a database of more than 50 thousand leaders across the world. It measures a person's creative capabilities versus reactive tendencies, which again give a scientifically tested indication of that person's leadership effectiveness and leadership potential utilisation.
The best leaders
The best leaders are the ones who obtain the best results...
How to build an empire with decisive leaders
Traits of the conscious effective leader: Decisiveness
Have you ever had problems making a decision? I certainly have, from the smallest silliest (do you want coffee or tea) to the larger more existential ones (should we marry, move to another country), when not considering daily decisions in the office or whatever work site.
So we both know the pains involved: the immobilisation, the insecurity, the awkwardness, swirling around with no results to show. Waiting for others to set directions. Playing out roles rather than being the lead actors of our lives. Making excuses for not meeting goals or commitments.
What about now, are you able to take decisions on time? How about the extent to which you are comfortable moving forward in uncertainty?
Years ago, as I was offered a practice job in Turkey, my father adviced me to simply make a decision there and then. The owner would get annoyed at me if I wasn’t able to take that decision. Dad told me I could...
