Leadership, as do people, evolves. Seeing through the eye of the leader has taken on a whole new level of meaning in light of recent advances in cognitive neuroscience. When a leader realizes that how she or he perceives their self, their team members, and the organization powerfully matters to outcomes, there is potentially even more motivation to bring clarity to their vision. I was reading an article written by professor Eric Kandel, a neuroscientist at Columbia University that appeared in the NY Times weekend edition for April 13, 2013, "What the Brain Can Tell Us About Art." A noteworthy comment was made regarding creativity:
"...This insight implied that the brain is a creativity machine, which obtains incomplete information from the outside world and completes it." (assigns the meaning)
At the end of the article, Dr. Kandel makes an interesting comment:
"All of which goes to show that the real "eye" of the beholder is the brain itself."
Truly. How we see reality is subjective, and then we take the actions to prove ourselves right. When a leader sees him or herself with blind spots, they can under-perform unnecessarily or, even worse, project their low expectations onto those around them and also contribute to a reduction of the effectiveness of their team.
When a leader's expectations of success are limited, it impacts the performance of the whole team. You underestimate the power of the mind to produce self-fulfilling prophecy to your own peril. How do we begin to consciously become the Creative Directors of the performance of our teams and organizations?
You must first be willing to open your Mind's Eye and see with objectivity what is going on around you - eyes wide open. Denial is a poor choice for a coping mechanism when it comes to leadership. Change will wait for no one. Seeing one's own gaps in leadership performance is made easier by realizing that we are all growing and learning to reach more of our true potential.
No matter how successful you are now or have been in the past, the environment continues to change and evolve, and so must you. Here are three steps to move you on to the right trajectory to expand the vision for your leadership development:
1. Change how you perceive growth and development. See it as an adventure and not as 'fixing yourself'. You are not broken; you simply need to grow.
2. Be willing to learn a mindfulness meditation practice that is right for you.
3. Learn user-friendly Neuroscience 101 from someone who has done it him or herself - not just having picked up a book and is now speaking from theory. Anyone can find information on the Internet these days.
Learning to slow down your mind will open a whole new way of seeing the world and yourself. How change proceeds and whether or not a successful path is chosen will depend on the eye of the beholder - the way the leader's brain is wired to see the world that is. Are you ready to rise to the occasion to 'retrain your brain' to become a more engaging, effective leader who can adapt to change with more resiliency as it arises, for good? What are some things that you are doing to expand the way you face and deal with change?
Valencia Ray, M.D. teaches business owners and corporate leaders how their amazing brain can actually hijack personal power -- not in the abstract, but in the context of integrating business and personal life. Dr. Ray, a board-certified eye surgeon and medical business owner for over 20 years before selling her practice, shares her own life changing process. By sharing her story, she helps others to expand their vision and learn that by living with purpose and confidence, it is possible to have a more integrated, healthier lifestyle – with less struggle, more inner peace and more abundance.
For more information and to contact her regarding dynamic, inspirational keynotes, trainings in collaborative leadership and team building, entrepreneurship and coaching programs, visit her website at http://www.ValenciaRay.com.