Centered Leadership

At work today, there was a webinar on "How Centered Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results" presented by Lareina Yee (McKinsey Centered Leadership Project).   She started with the picture of the iceberg; where the visible part represented our Behaviors, which can be seen.  But, our Behaviors are affected by the parts which cannot be seen, namely: 1) thoughts and feelings, 2) beliefs and values, and 3) needs and fears.

Leaders that can in turn "inspire, engage, and mobilize others" meet certain preconditions - desire to lead, talent & knowledge, and capacity for change.  Then, the 5 capabilities of "centered leadership" are:

inspire, engage, and mobilize others

inspire, engage, and mobilize otheThen, the 5 capabilities of "centered leadership" include:

• Framing - self-awareness and perspective
• Connecting - networking with others, building trust, working in teams (not going it alone)
• Engaging - ownership and being willing to take risks and action
• Energizing - sustaining practices and recovery (like weekends to prepare for the week)
• Meaning - purpose, core strengths (playing to our strengths)

This was a really good talk, with some very practical perspectives to take into consideration when leading.  From a personal viewpoint, I find that it is important to link each of the 5 capabilities to God.  For example, in Framing, I need to include the eternal perspective; in Connecting, to include God in all things; in Engaging, to take action based on faith; in Energizing, to find rest in HIM, and in Meaning, to use what God has given me and to be purposeful in all things.