Leading with Presence: Strategies for enhancing self-awareness, empathy, and mindfulness for leaders

Welcome to this inaugural edition of the Leading with Presence newsletter. ?A new fortnightly newsletter that will share practical strategies and insights about how to be a leader who is Leading with Presence. ?Unlike traditional leadership development content that often focuses on external competencies and skills, I’ll delve into the transformative power of internal growth, emotional intelligence, and mindfulness. Going beyond the traditional definition of ‘executive presence’, I’ll explore how you, as a leader, can cultivate your self-awareness to become more present.? In doing so, you’ll potentially develop more empathy, emotional regulation, greater capacity for listening, increased curiosity, and openness.? In becoming more present, you’ll transform yourself as a leader, changing your relationship with yourself and others.

What sets this newsletter apart is my focus on the inner journey of leadership, recognising that the most profound shifts occur not just through acquiring new strategies or techniques but through transforming our very being. By integrating insights from neuroscience, psychology, and ancient wisdom traditions, I aim to guide you on a path to leadership that is as much about growing inwardly as it is about leading outwardly.

Why Now?

In today's fast-paced, complex global environment, leaders at all levels are navigating unprecedented challenges. The landscape of work and leadership is being reshaped by technological advancements, shifting economic tides, and the need for sustainable, inclusive growth. These changes demand more from leaders than ever before: not just the ability to manage and direct but to inspire, understand, and connect on a deeper level.

The temptation to respond to these pressures with increased hours, tightened control, and a relentless drive for results is understandable. However, this approach often leads to burnout, disengagement, and a loss of connection with the very people leaders aim to inspire. Now, perhaps more than at any other time, there's a palpable hunger for a new kind of leadership.

This is where Leading with Presence becomes not just relevant, but essential. The current moment calls for leaders who can navigate complexity with clarity, lead with empathy, and foster resilience and innovation in their teams. It's about moving beyond transactional leadership to transform how we relate to ourselves, our work, and the people we lead. The aim is not just to survive but to thrive, creating environments where both leaders and their teams can do their best work and find fulfilment.

As we stand at this crossroads, the choice becomes clear: continue down the path of traditional leadership competencies, which, while important, are no longer sufficient, or embark on a journey to discover a different way—a way that embraces the power of presence. The time to explore this transformative approach is now, as we seek to lead in a world that craves authenticity, connection, and purpose.

The Power of Presence

And that’s where Leading with Presence comes in.? When we’re present to ourselves and are willing to recognise how our emotions, feelings, beliefs, habits, systems and experiences shaped and influenced us, we can start transforming who we are as leaders. ?Popularised by Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is a critical dimension in leadership.? And it’s through cultivating our emotional intelligence that we can connect with and lead from a state of presence—being present with ourselves first and then with others.? ?I’m sure you’ve come across such a person.? Someone who is grounded, appropriately assured, humble and yet confident; who can also make you feel more grounded and more regulated, and who listens, supports, and empowers you.? ?Pause for a moment and bring to mind such a person. ?What are they doing that makes them stand out?? How are they being with you that is different to other people?? What learning or insights do you gain from reflecting upon them?

A systematic review conducted in 2022 by Laura Ilona Urrila, published in the Human Resource Management Review, underscores the profound impact of mindfulness practices on leadership. One of its key findings was the significant benefits not only for personal well-being and work productivity but also for the development of transformative leadership capabilities such as self-awareness, social/contextual awareness, and ethical leadership behaviour. These qualities support leaders in nurturing their relationships and fostering their inner growth (Urrila, 2022). Furthermore, research by Arednt, Verdorfer, and Kugler in 2019 provides preliminary empirical support for how mindfulness extends beyond enhancing personal well-being and resilience to include positive effects on interpersonal skills and communication behaviour. This is critical for satisfying and effective leadership.

?While mindfulness is just one pathway to enhancing presence, these studies highlight the importance and immense value of leaders embracing presence within their leadership practice. By integrating mindfulness and presence into our leadership approach, we open the door to not just incremental improvements in our effectiveness but to a profound transformation in our leadership identity and the culture of our teams and organisations.

My Journey to Increasing Presence

I started my corporate career with a fascination for technology and wanted to understand how electronic systems and software worked.? For many years, I created systems and wrote software.? I loved solving problems with technology.? I lived in my head.? I valued and was valued for my intellect.? And along the way, I became an accidental leader.? With time, I eventually learned to embrace being a leader.? However, only when I discovered coaching and started learning more about myself did I realise how I had been limiting myself and those around me.? I realised there was more to me than simply my intellect and ability to use my rational mind.

I embraced the challenge of going within and working on myself.? Along the way, I discovered what was possible and opened my heart.? In doing so, I grew my self-awareness, a key component of emotional intelligence. With that, I gained a greater awareness of my attention and what I was seeing or, more importantly, not seeing.? I became more present as I learned to slow down and tune in.? When I’m present, I’m moving from hanging out solely in my thoughts to having greater access to my embodied wisdom, discovering new options, and greater clarity.?

?Now, as an executive coach, coach trainer, coaching supervisor and coach mentor, I’m continuing that journey of self-development while walking alongside and empowering leaders and coaches on a similar journey.?

What to expect from this newsletter

Each fortnight, I’ll share practical strategies and insights about how to be a leader who is Leading with Presence. ?This will appeal to anyone who works with or leads others and wants to develop themselves as a more empathic, heart-led, self-aware and present leader. ??In the process, you’ll start to discover strategies to support a shift from potentially feeling burned out and surviving life to someone who thrives in both leadership and life.

Along the way, I’ll draw upon a wide range of disciplines, including:?

• Emotional Intelligence
• Positive Psychology
• Human Centred Coaching & Psychology
• Adult learning theories
• Neuroscience
• Mindfulness

As mentioned, I love feeding my rational mind with information and knowledge.? I love science and technology and then reflecting on how we can use it to enhance our understanding of ourselves.? However, to embrace and fully embody presence, we must also ensure we aren’t only speaking to our rational minds. ?Therefore, I’ll be balancing information, research and background information with practical experiments you can try.? The encouragement will be for you to become an experimenter and gather your data based on how you have experienced and felt changes based on the suggestions and ideas I’ve shared.?? We’re all different.? And it’s impossible to say that one approach will work for everyone.? In reality, some approaches and suggestions will resonate differently for each of us.? However, while experimenting, you’ll find those approaches or combinations of techniques that work best for you.?? So please give yourself permission to play!

Let’s have a conversation.

If you haven’t already subscribed to the newsletter, please do so by hitting the subscribe or follow buttons.? That way, you’ll be sure to receive notifications each time a new edition drops.

I’d also love this to be a conversation, so please add your comments below.? What are you most looking forward to hearing more about? ?What challenges do you face that stop you from being more present and thriving in life and leadership?? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. I value your insights and am committed to responding to your comments as we build this community together.

Finally, if you know of a colleague or friend who might be interested in these topics – why not recommend this newsletter to them?? Sharing is not just about spreading the word; it's about extending the conversation on leadership and presence to a broader community, enriching our collective understanding.

Thanks for taking the time to read this inaugural edition, and I look forward to travelling this journey and empowering you to become a leader who is leading with presence. ?Stay tuned for our next edition, where I’ll dive into self-awareness and attention, uncovering insights that will challenge and inspire you.

?