Am I operating above or below the line?

Am I operating above or below the line?

This question might be the most important one you ask yourself throughout the day.

What line am I talking about?

The concept of "the line" comes from The Conscious Leadership Group , and it fundamentally separates two ways of showing up:

You Can Show Up in One of Two Ways:

?? Above the line: ??

  • Leading from curiosity, learning, and responsibility
  • Operating from acceptance and trust
  • Responsive, curious, open to growth and learning
  • Taking the mindset that things are happening “by you” (you have agency over how you respond)

?? Below the line:???

  • Reacting from defensiveness, blame, and being right
  • Operating from resistance and threat
  • Reactive, defensive, spinning up drama
  • Taking the mindset that things are happening “to you” (victim mentality)


? When a project fails, do you immediately look for who's responsible, or do you ask what you can learn?

?? When faced with criticism, do you defend your position, or get curious about the feedback?

?? When presented with new ideas, are you closed off to fresh ways of doing things or are you open to different perspectives?

These moments define your leadership effectiveness more than any strategy or skill set.


Want to know where you're operating from?

Your thoughts and language can tell you:

Operating above the line sounds like:

  • "I'm curious about what we can learn from this."
  • "What's my responsibility in this situation?"
  • "How might we solve this together?"

Operating below the line sounds like:

  • "That's not my fault."
  • "They should have known better."
  • "We don't have enough resources."

The most powerful leaders aren't those who stay above the line all the time (that's impossible), we often fluctuate between the two sides of the line daily. What makes all the difference is when you can recognize you’ve slipped below the line and know how to shift back up.


How to shift from below the line to above:

I put together some practical tools for recognizing and making this shift for my Email Club and it's hitting inboxes tomorrow!

?? If you’re not a member of the Email Club, what are you waiting for? Subscribe now!


Operating Above the Line Workshop, Grand Island, Nebraska

Also, Grand Island, Nebraska, friends! Operating above vs. below the line is the focus of the first workshop in a conscious leadership & productivity series upcoming in April!

I partnered with the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce to bring this workshop to those looking to understand their own leadership and working style and to be a part of building a stronger culture.

I cannot wait for this workshop to kick off soon! Learn more and sign up here: https://www.gichamber.com/events/details/direction-for-growth-3849


Bill Garland

Operations Leader ? Change Champion ? Team Builder ? Supply Chain Manager ? Aggressive Cost Reductions

1 周

A few simple yet powerful questions to ask. When we seek to continuously improve, none of these questions cause us discomfort. Of course, the way the questions are asked as well as the situation can make it more challenging. Leaders expect their team to answer these questions (and more) honestly, promptly, and without delay. They should expect the same from us. Excellence is not easy. It does make the hard situations easier.

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