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 brainstorm activity and was told ‘don’t be so serious!’
She decided there and then to stop being all brains, to start taking her emotions seriously, and to find back to herself.
A few months later – she quit her job to focus on ways to improve leadership
You’ve already guessed, that little girl is me
Then what?
I intensified my research into proven methods from top higher education institutions and real world leaders.
I looked back, gathered and reviewed my own experiences and that of part of my leadership network
My interest in psychology was fully awakened, and my attention to the world at large grew too.
This all led to a radically new and comprehensive Self-Development Methodology for Leaders and others™, which I’ll come back to.
How is life now?
With this quite heavy road behind me, the engineer and leader in me has found back to dreams, meaning and purpose, life is far from empty. I’m also using my background and ongoing art therapist education in leadership development.
The little girl full of vitality, vibrant joy, imagination and curiosity is back! As a grown up I have uncovered my own due role in society and work.
That was the story, what about that Conscious Leadership thing?
I know - and deep inside you probably know it too - that our world is in need of conscious leadership, with leaders and all others living a conscious life.
You may ask: Why is that?
Challenges in 2019
Well, let’s focus on the most important challenges we have to deal with:
- Our planet is in a disturbing state: water and food crises, effects of climate change, extreme weather, profound social instability. To me, this can be seen as a result of overconsumption, social deconstruction and unsustainable economic models based on unrealistic assumptions.
- The fourth industrial revolution is disrupting the functioning of organizations of all sorts, be it governmental, business, non-profit and even down to family life. Not only does this impact our trades, it also impacts us as human beings - what we do and who we define ourselves to be. This revolution is not something happening to us independent of our wills. We all share responsibility for the direction evolution will take. Technology is a tool, not the master nor the goal!
- Humans are social animals relating to each other. We wouldn't survive if it wasn't for our innate need for connection! The global increase in mental health issues is now among the main causes of disease and disability. Depressions are expected to soon rank second. This is largely caused by problems with relationships. This affects our wellbeing!
- Too many people do not feel well. Burnout, stress, depression, anxiety, aggressions, anger issues ... are all symptoms that something is not right. By the way, BNP does not correlate with wellbeing! The answer to this must be found elsewhere!
Does it affect you?
Could all this affect you, people around you or your descendants in some way? Perhaps it already does?
In my humble opinion, based on my own experiences, listening to leaders in my network, discussing with clients, reading news, and according to science and world organizations, this affects us all, it affects us now, in our daily life, and it probably has been for years!
It affects our individual wellbeing, our relations, the organisations we are involved in, and our environment!
How can we deal with these challenges?
The challenges I mentioned above are complex, interrelated, but not unsolvable, if and when we deal with them. To do that we need 4 things:
- We need vision, strategy, guidance and stamina. What we could call Leadership
- We need people wanting to make an impact, willing to stick their head out, with the necessary skills to guide us. We need Leaders
- We need to create a momentum of enough people to turn the tide. Progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change
- Each and single one of us needs to improve our self-awareness and reconnect with ourselves. We need Consciousness
By the way, here is where my radically new and comprehensive Self-Development Methodology for Leaders and others™ comes in handy.
A global perspective
As it happens, the challenges and dealing with them concerns and applies to all political, business and other leaders of society:
‘On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Over the next years, with these new Goals that universally apply to all, countries need to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind’.
Conscious Life – Conscious Leadership!
You wondered what I meant with Conscious Life - Conscious Leadership?
This here in the text above is the essence and top level perspective of what I understand with Conscious Life – Conscious Leadership!
This is the why behind my work.
This is where I aim at building a community of likeminded people so we can join forces, together.
This is where I can and would love to support you!
(This is where my Self-Development Methodology for Leaders and Others ™ can help you.)
...
What about you?
What about you - did some of this resonate with you?
What are your thoughts on the sort of leadership we need today? Which role do you want to play in this?
What do you find to be the biggest challenges in your life and work? Is there anything you need to deal with right now?
Do you have all the tools and support you need to deal with them?
...
JOIN US!
My experience is that life and work is a continued learning road with inevitable ups and downs, where the most effective is to work together, support each other, and allow ourselves grow as individuals.
You are welcome to join us in the Conscious Leaders Forum to continue this conversation with likeminded people!
I’ll be back with more on down to earth and daily life perspectives, the What, the How … Until then, take care!
Friendly yours,
PS: You are welcome to join us in the Conscious Leaders Forum to continue this conversation with likeminded people!
Sources
- Lise Bjarkli’s radically new Self-Development Methodology for Leaders and Others™
- Lise Bjarkli's article on struggling in a disrupted market
- The UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda
- The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be reached by 2030
- Global challenges according to World Economic Forum
