September 2009

Mind Reading 101 for Leaders: 3 - Be Present

September 13, 2009 - 18:51 -- Dr. Ada
angry waves2092673645_3bcc803aff.jpg

I spent last week at the Outer Banks with a group of friends. We went to celebrate the wedding of the son of one of them. I enjoyed the experience of letting go of everything and just be in the moment. Especially seeing the bride and groom so intensely aware of each other in the moment of their ceremony by the beach made me think anew of the importance of living the moment and be present in our interactions with others.

Continuing the series on how to elicit the thoughts and ideas of others and share yours in a way that real understanding and collaboration can happen we are going to explore today how to Be Present.

When talking to others, speak and listen as if this is the most important conversation you will ever have in your life. It could be! When we are totally present and highly aware, our brains record and compute all kinds of subtle messages that can help us “read” the other and which many times result in the proverbial good or bad “gut feeling” we get about something. You might not be able to explain it fully, but you better “listen” to it.

Mind Reading 101 for Leaders: 2 - Be Authentic

September 2, 2009 - 00:20 -- Dr. Ada
cat reflection.jpg

We are continuing the series on how to elicit the thoughts and ideas of others and share yours in a way that real understanding and collaboration can happen. Today we are going to explore the importance of choosing to be authentic. Authenticity, being true to self, your values, and convictions, will help others recognize your leadership.

Some of the failures and blatant unethical practices we have lately seen in business can be tracked back to a lack of authenticity. You need to know and understand who you are before you can address others. You need to clarify what you want and how you want to get there. Then you can have conversations that spring from your authentic self. People will recognize and resonate with this.

What is authenticity

Authenticity has to do not only with speaking the truth, but most broadly presenting yourself in a genuine way; being without pretense; taking responsibility for your feelings and actions. To be able to be authentic, you need first to learn to read your own mind!

The concept of authenticity has received a significant amount of attention recently as people search for meaning and happiness, in their personal and work lives. How one chooses to try to live more authentically depends on their own perspective on authenticity. Like many other popular concepts, different people have different views about authenticity.