In his poem In this passing moment, the Zen priest Hogen Bays writes: If there is pain, I choose to feel. Whom I encounter, I choose to meet. I try to apply these lines at a bus stop, where an elderly man wearing rags shuffles across weeds. And I fall short. ... My personal reflections in this essay mirror in their own ways a radical self inquiry, which the heart of deep coaching invites us to. Which compassionate leadership invites us to. Enjoy.
Read MoreWhen within our workplaces we feel valued and appreciated, our targeted market out in the world will feel valued and well served. We can create appreciation through impeccable service toward each other inside the company. It's matter of perspective, kindness, helpfulness, and gratitude. When we serve our teams first, our causes will do their work in the world like magic.
Read MoreIt is in the breaking of our heart that light can pour in. I wish for all of us that light brings us the resilience and peace-filled relief that we seek. Let us dare to step into the truth of this leadership. This is transformation at its core. We got to do it. Saving us, saving lives. We have to start somewhere.
Read MoreAs humans, we have a basic yearning to learn. So I recently began a concentrated effort to lean into this. Which led to the questions: How do we best learn? How do we integrate what we read in meaningful ways? With a few proven steps, your learning can turn into liquid knowledge. And one day, you'll find, what you know flows easily from one subject field to the next. It is in this fluidity that creativity, innovation, success, magic and the very best of leadership unfold. Learning feeds the heart, the mind, and, with a bow to its etymology, the soles of our feet.
Read MoreWe tend to place an enormous social and cultural value on reaching our goals, ideally with maximum efficiency. We hang our personal identity onto them, we map strict strategies, build grit. But is this approach in our best interest? It is possible that we miss out on all that occurs in the space beyond our focused strategies, on all that is invisible to a mind that limits itself to reaching a future that doesn’t exist. It is even possible that we miss out on an outcome that far surpasses the goal we had originally in mind. Because our ability to meet the moments just as they are affects our thinking. Great results anchor in relationship with what is occurring. Great results anchor in our willingness to lean into each moment with clarity and spaciousness. Read more here about the space around goals (and the unexpected ways of surpassing them).
Read More“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” (Man's Search For Meaning, Victor Frankl.) After surviving the Auschwitz death camp, Frankl captured the heart and humanness of resilience like no other - with just three short sentences. But amid the ease and privilege that most of us in the West enjoy - that I enjoy - we so quickly forget the necessity, beauty, and simplicity of resilience. Given the sharp, accelerating conflicts and changes on our planet today, we absolutely need the stabilizing force of resilience, though. We need an approach for action that is both peaceful and effective. We need this resilience for our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our communities. If we want to be leaders, we need resilience every second of the day. Frankl's space offers this. So what is resilience? How can we build it? What does it feel like? Read more here.
Read MoreNegotiating beyond what is known.
"We're all just walking each other home," Ram Dass wrote in 2013. To this day I come back to this sentence, especially when nearing the sharp edge of relationship, when walking into situations with decisions at stake, when entering meeting rooms virtual or otherwise. What if I were to enter these spaces with the simplicity and purity of Ram Dass's statement? What then?
Let's be clear: In almost any encounter, we humans must negotiate around each other. We rely on each other to meet our needs. We have learned the advantages and skills around trade-offs and trades, in jest and otherwise. We want to emerge from conversations better than before. We want a win.
Winning, however, is an impossibly problematic thought.
Journaling comes down to simply setting time aside to organize thoughts and dreams with the aid of written language, utterly without judgment. This very act uncovers spaciousness. New solutions orient themselves in mesmerizing patterns like iron filaments around a magnet. We energize ourselves with the visibility of our own resourcefulness. Journaling is a powerful pathway into more effective leadership. which leaders like Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln have long known.
Read More“What counts is what we are, and the way we deepen our relationship with the world and with others, a relationship that can be one of both love for all that exists and of desire for its transformation.” ~ Italo Calvino.
Relationships, love, transformation, understanding, a continuum of happenings: Might these dynamics really be what our lives are about? I ask this question because I am interested in success and the makings of success. I ask because our conventional pursuit of success seems often measured by clearly defined outcomes that are fairly static. But might it be true, instead, that success is a dynamic force that flows within the natural changing forces of our lives, a constant happening as well? Happiness infuses my notion of success when I approach it as a continuum. A relief almost! Read more here.
Read MoreIs it possible to get the best from others just by being kind? Can kindness deliver? For me, I often remind myself that the Dalai Lama has a single leadership policy: Kindness. And that kindness has been part of human evolution since we first recognized the value of kin. "Leaders are key to kindness in the workplace," wrote the Chicago Tribune Herald last year.
The invitation is to just consider the possibility of kindness. Wherever we are or are at. To consider the possibility that when we put kindness first we always get results. How does that work, practically? Read more here..
The acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, who defines real quiet as "presence," explores a practice of deep listening as a taking in of the world, just as it is. The art of listening is so needed. From war zones to family settings and businesses, poor listening has caused enormous suffering, cost lives, and the loss of millions of dollars. Research shows that the average person listens at only about 25 percent efficiency. So how do we learn to listen again?
Read MoreJust a powerful message written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, many years ago, for this month's post. And an image of restless, fiery skies - nothing to hold on to but rapid, inevitable change. Thank you each for your great support in 2016! Wishing you happy Holidays. And until 2017. With gratitude, Sophia.
Read MoreThis summer, an obituary caught my attention for the ways that it seemed to capture so perfectly the radiance of the open, harmonious heart, embracing happiness. It was for the sufi singer Amjad Sabri, a leader on deep levels. The thing is, we can all choose a more open heart. This aching world needs it.
Read MoreThe mind mapping tool has been around for years, but few of us use it consistently. One reason could be that we aren't quite sure how to apply mind maps for maximum effectiveness. Modern mind mapping software picks up where the hand-drawn mind-map leaves off for targeted task management. Both phases are important.
Read MoreQuestions are intriguing. Especially in a world that simply is. What do we ask? How can there be answers to what just is? What do we not ask? Witness to our curiosity and aliveness, a good question busts through the closed doors of our consciousness and stops us in our habitual tracks. A powerful question functions as a dynamic invitation to learn and grow. But what makes for transformative questions?
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