Becoming the leader the world needs now

There are very few leaders who have the capacity to read the empirical and intuitive signals from multiple domains simultaneously.

A manager is required to read the signals of the team and what they have been contracted to do. These signals are both empirical and intuitive. A really skilled manager will have a large part of their attention on these signals, not in a micro-managerial way, but with exquisite attention.

As we progress to roles of higher order complexity, we need to be able to tune into the signals from multiple domains. Generally, the higher the role, the higher the level of complexity.

A top-level CEO or entrepreneur needs to tune into the signals from within the whole company, from the external environment in which the company operates, from the community and all the stakeholders, to the nation and the globe, as well as to his/her own internal signals and to the signals from the future.

This requires a level of attention and ability to tune in that is both extremely rare and highly valuable, yet often not recognised or acknowledged for what it is. Steve Jobs had this ability, especially when it came to the larger global environment and the future.

We need the same capacity from politicians. Sadly, we know that most politicians have the tunability of a manager.

Cultivating the ability to tune into multiple and complex signals, to first hear and see them, and then to interpret them in a way that is both steeped in common sense and uncommon (intuitive) sense, is a journey a leader takes with commitment. A part of his journey includes the practice of mindfulness. Add to this the layers of development at the cognitive, emotional, physical and spiritual level. Finally, add the highest level of complexity that we know of currently, which is the ability to read the signals from the future. The process to this level of tunability is rigorous. Like a martial art, it takes a high level of commitment and a very diligent practice.

The value returned for someone able to lead at this level is extraordinary.

Few programs offer this kind of complex development. Few coaches or mentors have the capacity within themselves to steward this type of development.

If this type of advanced leadership development is of interest, please reach out, as this is the work I love.

Photo credit: Ken Teegardin via Compfight