Dr. Gregory Stebbins is the Founder and Master Coach at PeopleSavvy. He is a member of the American Psychological Association.
getty
We're mutually traversing some of the most perplexing times in recent history and some leaders' response to this has been to harden themselves. If we choose to do this, we cut ourselves off from each other, because after all, connection is the heart of our humanity. Being vulnerable, heart-opened and heart-led has never been more essential.
In late 2020, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) conducted a cross-cultural survey on human-centered leadership. The results say the following: "There is a shift towards increasingly valuing human leadership, that has crystalized with the Covid-19 crisis and for which there is no going back. ... A visionary and decisive leader may jeopardize the engagement of his/her teams if he/she lacks human qualities. This is agnostic of gender and age, which confirms even more what our times require: Heart before anything else."
The difference between intellect and wisdom.
Ancient Egyptians believed the heart to be the source of wisdom — while most of today's leaders follow a well-trodden path of data, information and knowledge. This path charts a linear process to becoming "smart." Wisdom requires an extended passageway, influenced by the two axes of self-awareness and depth of understanding.
A leader moves through the "smart" path into insight (intuitive wisdom) and then moments of more profound wisdom (the wisdom of the heart). The more you know about yourself and the deeper you understand yourself, others and your culture, the greater your leadership wisdom becomes.
The heart's wisdom is an integrating touchpoint that accelerates the awareness of your inner wisdom. Just as the consciousness of each human has several aspects; physical, imagination, emotions, mind and unconscious — the heart reflects each of these aspects. Probing directly into the heart allows many, and perhaps all, of these reflections to manifest as guidance.
Your body may communicate, "I'm hungry, let's go make a sandwich." Your imagination might become hyperactive, flashing pictures of any incompletes you still need to do. Your emotions might say, "This doesn't feel right." And, your mind will question every suggestion because it doesn't want to give up control. No wonder this process can be confusing to many or why some people say it's dangerous to pursue guidance from the heart.
Transcendent leaders and divine presence.
"Transcendent Leadership" is an evolution past transactional and transformational leadership. In this evolution, leaders are able to hold a consciousness that naturally lifts those around them and helps unbind them from their often self-imposed restrictions. They help us to “see” our filters and blind spots by facilitating insights that allow us to consciously choose our behaviors rather than mindlessly defaulting to our ingrained habitual actions.
As we experience the freedom coming from an expansion of our self-awareness, we begin to challenge deeply held assumptions or habitual ways of behaving and the possibility of our own transcendence becomes real. Moving into "source" opens the heart to levels of wisdom that extend into the ultimate source of wisdom, "divine presence."
The simplest wisdom practice comes from Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish theologian who wrote a book called Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius lays out meditation, contemplation and prayer as the essential endeavors to gain awareness of "divine presence." And even though I've patiently practiced these spiritual exercises for 52 years, I must admit that I'm still a beginner. My experience tells me that contemplation is an excellent tool that allows the heart's wisdom to emerge naturally.
Contemplation as a tool to access transcendent leadership.
In its simplest form, contemplation is taking an object and becoming absorbed by it. The object could be anything. I find that just holding in silence and allowing the heart to speak brings forward the leadership guidance needed for the situation or circumstance. Cynthia Bourgeault lays out contemplation's value when she says, "Practices are not a means to get somewhere, but an expression of a relationship with something that is." She further says, "In short, contemplation might be described as entering a deeper silence and letting go of our habitual thoughts, sensations and feelings in order to connect to a truth greater than ourselves."
I've successfully used a three-step process in my contemplations.
• Presence: Be present in the moment and consciously choose to be guided by divine presence. It doesn't include judgment, analysis or critique. Accessing the heart's wisdom requires that you unconditionally love things in themselves and as themselves as they emerge. You aren't required to do anything with whatever arises. In addition to holding in silence, you're choosing an initial role of observer.
• Patience – Be patient for the wisdom of the heart to emerge. Building a foundation takes time. We all wish for the heart's guidance to show up in 30 seconds after first starting the contemplation process. If it was as easy as turning on a light switch, we might not value the guidance that comes forward. Set aside time every day and commit to growing the experience a little deeper. Contemplation may feel awkward the first few times you do it.
• Practice – Practice this skill so it becomes available at any moment when needed. Your experience with contemplation is uniquely yours and may not fit with another.
The contemplation process laid out above is simple, but not easy. It takes great courage to honestly look at our creations and evolve. The aspects of consciousness that we're choosing to rise above are well versed in ensuring that we continue to play small, instead of expanding and leading from the wisdom of the heart.
Initially, others that you work with may attempt to shoot you down. They will present all the reasons to not lead from your heart. And, in a sense, they're correct. When you lead from the wisdom of your heart, remember you must also bring your brains along for the ride. Leading together with both heart and mind, you can achieve incredible results.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
