Leadership Development

"The ability to maintain presence is the mark of a true leader. Presence allows individuals to lead from within. " - Sharon Golden

In today's fast paced changing work environments, leaders are challenged with new situations that require innovative solutions beyond anything they've previously encountered. Recycled business solutions from the past no longer meet the challenges created by the new situations emerging. Today's business requires a new level of presence to meet the challenges faced by leaders.

Understanding principles of presence is critical for healthy high performance. Presence invites inner stillness that supports the power of listening as a core business skill. The ability to listen within as well as to other is critical in making sound business decisions. It allows individuals to lead from wisdom and inspiration and supports 'stress less' work environments and the natural process of change.

A Harvard study (Harvard Business Review; December 2001; p. 41-51) of hundreds of business leaders and thousands of business executives revealed the following three key points:

  • Of all the factors affecting bottom-line performance, the mood of leaders and the attendant behaviors was the most important.
  • Managing for financial results, then, begins with managing one's state of mind so the right emotional and behavioral outcomes occur.
  • Managing one's state of mind is not easy. For many of us, it's our greatest challenge.

Understanding the role of our state of mind in leadership and how it impacts business outcomes is critical for every leader. This understanding can help to facilitate the state of mind of presence that's essential for the agility required by leaders to assist them in navigating the currents of rapid change. It points leaders toward their ability to tap into inner resources beyond the intellect for wisdom and creativity to address and adapt to necessary changes.

When leaders meet business challenges from a state of presence, it supports the natural process of individual and organizational change from the inside-out. Presence improves the quality of work outcomes and provides the infrastructure for a healthy collaborative culture that supports communication, creativity, innovation and peak performance to achieve business outcomes, including customer service excellence.