3 Transformational Skills Needed by Evolutionary Leaders

The ongoing rapid change we are all experiencing is causing a new kind of chaos in organizations. It’s a chaos that can be viewed as disruptive and perhaps even destructive.  Or is it?

In reality the speed of change and innovation in areas of technology and process is forcing a new kind of human adaptation. A morphing if you will of how we used to be with a new emerging version of potential self.

This is not your regular change management we are talking here. We are talking about being an evolutionary leader who has heightened ability to be ‘in the moment’ of chaos and to harness the chaotic energy to bypass inertia or stagnation and ultimately to lead others to thrive in a state of ongoing perceived chaos. This is transformation!

The skills needed for leaders today and in the future are unlike the typical leadership skills that have been developed. The foundation of leadership skill development is relevant and necessary and now there is an opportunity to ‘go deeper’ into unique and evolutionary skill development.

The skills that are emerging as being the key resources for leaders to lead in times of chaos are:

#1- The ability to put equal power into the unknown knowing- society has caused us to put high value on that which can be proven, that which has been tested and that which can be measured. Obviously these things are at the core of life and business AND there is a hugely untapped resource in the ‘higher mind’ abilities of individuals. This goes beyond creativity, as we know it- I am talking about actively cultivating the ‘timeless and expanded mind’ that is not restricted by proof and linear mind.

This skill unifies mindfulness with emotional intelligence and focused energy on non-linear mind expansion. (Tools such as breath therapy, meditation, body-mind connection exercises and my favorite created by Dr. Donny Epstein called NSA and SRI etc.)

#2- The ability to lead others by focused intent on his or her energetic ranges- again there are numerous leadership tools such as personality assessments, emotional intelligence skills, and expansion of real time custom solutions when leading others. What I am referring to here is a leaders ability to ‘see and respond’ to others in a way that factors in both physical evidence of behavior and that which is unseen. Wait, before you think this is too woo-woo for you consider this- have you ever worked for or are you working for a leader who innately gets you?

When a leader tunes in to the ‘energy’ of the person they are influencing often a solution arises for the situation that would not have presented itself through other methods. For example as a leadership expert I have coached and worked with many CEO’s to help them lead change, transform people and grow business. In a series of coaching meetings I was having with a 30 something CEO it was evident he was highly successful because of his drive and his forceful striving for business growth.

I had used structure tools such as leadership assessments, personality assessment, emotional intelligence assessment and more. These tools helped to confirm what the CEO already knew about himself and provided the context for areas that needed to be improved. However in this particular meeting I mentioned to the CEO that I noticed and sensed a pervasive angry undertone to everything he did.

I tuned in to his ‘energetic’ self when delivering this observation. I then asked him how he thought his leadership affected others if he had that constant angry undertone. His body language morphed- he took down the shield of his angry posturing and broke into tears. He tearfully shared that he was still angry with his mother for abandoning him when he was a small child. It was a quick moment and not a therapy session- it was an ‘energetic’ release of awareness that heightened his ability to self evaluate.

This CEO’s energetic range prior to our coaching was from highly frenetic with vision to frustration and irritability with others. After the ‘energetic’ awareness he began to shift his approach, he sought support to deal with his anger in a healthy way, noticeably shifted his leadership approach and went on to grow the business and sell it for a nice sum.

#3- The ability to be a deeper and more insightful coach- many leaders have undergone coaching skill development and there are many more who have the responsibility for coaching and have no idea how to coach in an impactful way.

It is not a formula and it is not something that a leader ‘has to do in addition to everything else’. Evolutionary leaders understand that in the midst of chaos there needs to be an oasis of calm. The oasis of calm IS the leader.

The leader must self manage and build his or her resources to bring their most evolved self to their role. An evolved leader sees coaching as THE resource to develop and help others to manage ongoing chaos at warp speed.

Coaching in a deeper and more insightful way means using less of a formulaic approach and integrating ‘real time’ coaching that includes tuning in to the person being coached, and asking powerful questions that create space for true ‘enlightened answers’ that expand personal development and empowerment for the person being coached.

As a coach and consultant I live for the ‘aha’ breakthroughs that my clients achieve. A recent study by AMA showed that more and more employees are seeking to be happy at work and those that have leaders who provide the added value of real time and customized growth through coaching have the highest levels of happiness and loyalty.

I have said for years that people don’t leave their jobs – they leave their leaders.

In these times of chaos everyone is looking for the resources and tools to thrive, grow and learn from his or her leader and work. They are looking for evolutionary leaders and workplaces.