Continual improvement of our programs and practices is a perennial goal for the Emergent team. We aim to ensure that our offerings are relevant, contemporary, and reflective of the best of what we know and do.
While our most significant offering, LeadFORWARD, has gone through several iterations and improvements in its 14 years, 2025 will bring a total redesign. Some of you participated in a previous 12-month version, or else sponsored the participation of a leader in your organization. You may not know that the program has been expanded to 18 full months of leadership development transformation, as we believe that this longer duration allows for the cohort forming, relationship building, and hands-on practice necessary to make transformation last.
Past participants may also recall that we have always included four or five “must read” books as development aids. This time around, we are relying on a single book: Conscious Leadership by John Mackey. I am currently rereading this excellent book in preparation to launch our first cohort of 2025. Mackey provides a comprehensive exploration of leadership that incorporates many subjects at the core of our practice, such as purpose, intentionality, and work/life integration. He seeks to awaken his readers to the power of visionary goals, thoughtful habits, and business practices that consider more than just the bottom line–all values we at Emergent hold dear. I’m confident this book will serve as a useful companion piece to the upcoming LeadFORWARD program.
However, despite my respect for this book and my excitement for the upcoming LeadFORWARD cohort, I feel compelled to dig deeper. After all, this is a blog, not an advertisement! I confess that getting the word out about our redesigned program is one goal of this particular piece. But there’s always more beneath the surface. In my reread, I noticed Mackey’s book has one significant omission: the role of the subconscious.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: the book isn’t called Subconscious Leadership! It makes perfect sense that a book written to encourage leaders to exercise broader awareness of their roles and responsibilities should focus on the surface level of consciousness: our relationships, self-talk, and all manner of verbal thoughts.
But we believe the conscious realm is only part of the territory leaders should map. We maintain that our success in developing leaders can be attributed to our holistic approach, which includes an exploration of our participants’ subconscious. The drives, motives, and fears that lurk beneath the surface are often the root causes of our behaviors. They can lay the groundwork for success or limit us without our knowledge. The subconscious determines whether we will face our tasks with courage or return, again and again, to fear-based behaviors–without knowing we are doing so!
LeadFORWARD invites and guides leaders to discover, holistically, the interplay between their conscious and subconscious. By becoming more aware of the reactive tendencies that are active in our shadow (subconscious) and light (conscious) selves, we can gain the deep self-knowledge necessary to achieve lasting change.
I would like to offer you three questions to help you glimpse into your subconscious leadership:
What do I think I need to do that no one else can do?
Subconscious tendencies fuel our ambition for high performance and perfection, often at the cost of performance. When left unchecked, the belief that success and failure rest solely on our shoulders leads us to neglect delegation and accountability sharing. Once we have recognized these tendencies in our shadow-selves, we can begin to apply the antidotes: developing relational skills, practicing selfless leadership, and prioritizing collaboration.
Where do I create distance between myself and those that I lead?
Many leaders unwittingly create too much space, often based on an unrecognized belief they need to be a lone wolf to lead effectively. Becoming more open and providing more access to yourself as a leader is key. Acknowledge and validate others and, most of all, make a point to invite and include those you lead.
What relationships do I worry about harming so much that I am unclear, evasive, or avoidant?
Fears related to conflict and confrontation are often buried deep in the subconscious, and cause leaders to avoid important conversations or even act dishonestly. One idea to limit these types of subconscious traits is to focus on accomplishing more with others. Look for the systems already in place that guide safety and productivity in work relationships. If those systems don’t exist, develop them! Work collaboratively with your colleagues on clearer strategies and goals and consider your authentic voice in all that you do.
These questions demonstrate the deep and holistic inquiry that is the basis of our leadership development model. One goal of the program redesign is to provide more space for these difficult but essential questions, those that challenge us to grow at the most fundamental level. Emergent’s certified coaches are skilled at guiding our clients through these introspective journeys. We strive to create a safe and generative space where true learning and growth can be accomplished. And we invite you to be a part of that space.
LeadFORWARD is an 18-month experience that draws a national audience. The experience includes a 5 day retreat, executive coaching, 6 remote Mastermind Meetings and one of the most sophisticated 360 Assessments available to leaders today. LeadFORWARD will guide participants to a greater awareness of their conscious and subconscious leadership tendencies and will empower them to develop with purpose and intention.
Registration for the next available cohort, which meets for its retreat in June, is open until March 31st. You can reserve a free consultation here.
Want to know more about LeadFORWARD and your leadership development? Reach out to me at bill@getemergent.com or anyone on our team.
Comments (0)