Baseball most simple
And most complex of all games
What of Leadership

Former Harvard psychologist Dr. Richard Alpert, more commonly known through his spiritual teachings as Ram Dass, once remarked that the most important thing a person can do for another is to work on themselves. He further mused that this is not self-indulgence but rather if, as individuals we are not conscious beings, what can we really offer someone else? To apply this wisdom to strategic leadership in corporate life has the potential to raise the bar on leadership insight and accomplishment. A self-aware executive becomes a natural leader, described here as a thought leader, someone who knows what is right by instinct rather than by instruction.

Self-awareness is to thought leadership what listening is to skill-based leadership; the essence around which everything else revolves. A skill-based leader may refine proficiencies, systems and practices, while a thought-based leader will build on those foundations and rely on self-awareness, executive presence and organizational savvy to engender even greater results. Genuine understanding and integration of this three-dimensional leadership model will maximize effectiveness and stimulate trust.

Everything an executive says, does (and even thinks) will reach the antennae of their team and influence the climate of the workplace.

Thought leadership starts on the inside with self-awareness, guided by one's own conscious, well-honed inner compass. A thought leader is someone with a strong sense of self; not just of strengths and weaknesses, but also with the emotional intelligence to recognize how those strengths and weaknesses affect others. The truly self-aware leader will recognize that weaknesses are simply strengths that are inappropriately or over-used. For example, an effective communicator is someone who has a good balance between their ability to be frank, candid, and direct as well as their equal ability to be diplomatic and judicious. Both of these traits, while desirable, often exist out of balance in many leaders causing them to be blunt or evasive in the extreme. The self aware leader recognizes this dynamic and others like it and will take appropriate steps to “course correct.”

To know one's self is to understand the importance of not only how you communicate, but also how you use your own physical instrument to be yourself. Everyone has a story: a front story - what we show to the world and a back story - what we know to be true about ourselves. A leader with executive presence demonstrates the confidence of someone who has comfortably integrated both. In a culture where everything we say and do is watched closely, trust is built most easily by those who carry and present themselves with this sense of comfort. When we present ourselves in public we engage in what I call the “communication energy exchange.” Picture it as a flow of energy between the speaker and the listener. The leaders with executive presence, through their body language and emotional touchstone of their message, are more apt to reinforce and less likely to interrupt this communication energy exchange.

Lastly, a thought leader exhibits organizational savvy through a keen awareness of the impact of all that he or she does. Working with more than just a knowledge of organizational dynamics and ‘how things get done around here,’ the savvy executive understands the fine balance between how things appear and how they truly are. While all of us filter our acceptance or rejection of others’ ideas through our well-developed (though often unstated) value system, the savvy executive has a broad enough mind to allow for conflicting and contrary values and accepts that no two people ever truly think alike. Recognizing that is one thing – incorporating the challenge of that is entirely something else.

Authentic thought leaders distinguish themselves by the way they interact with their work environment. And authenticity is the litmus test through which employees evaluate individual and company leadership. With appropriate guidance and strategic application, an aware leader can evolve into a conscious leader who can then transform into an authentic leader. It is only then that they can truly offer something of value to others.