With computers on our desks and in our pockets, colleagues knocking on our doors, and constantly shifting news cycles, information comes at us surprisingly quickly.
How much we are able to absorb, respond to, and act upon greatly depends on our own awareness. Attention and awareness make up the first step to compassion – you can’t skip this step. You must first notice the challenges and suffering of another person or within a system before you can respond to it.
“A primary task of leadership is to direct attention.
To do so, leaders must learn to focus their own attention.”
– Daniel Goleman
In Harvard Business Review’s article, “The Focused Leader” Goleman invites leaders to think of three ways to direct attention – “focusing on yourself, focusing on others, and focusing on the wider world.” These three are dynamically intertwined and shaping the way we show up for others and the decisions we make that shape our organizations.
Goleman emphasizes “Every leader needs to cultivate this triad of awareness, in abundance and in the proper balance, because a failure to focus inward leaves you rudder-less, a failure to focus on others renders you clue-less, and a failure to focus outward may leave you blindsided.”
Sorting through these three areas on a daily basis is no easy task.
The good news is that we can practice and train our attention, anywhere. One practice you can utilize is called Ready, Set, Go. The practice, patterned after one which doctors and nurses rely upon during the brief time available between patients, can be done in almost any setting and in less than thirty seconds. By relaxing yourself first, and setting your intention next, you can move into action with a focused field of attention.
When you are feeling overwhelmed or off-center, these three steps can ground you. Think about doing this between meetings or Zoom sessions, before a difficult conversation, or as you are about to give a presentation.
Goleman highlights the impact of this centered attention when he says, “Executives who can effectively focus on others are easy to recognize. They are the ones who find common ground, whose opinions carry the most weight, and with whom other people want to work. They emerge as natural leaders regardless of organizational or social rank.”
These moments of attention are invitations to compassionate leadership. Here are a few questions for your reflection:
Of these three areas, where are you naturally strong in awareness – self, others, or world?
What distracts you or pulls you away from the present moment?
Which aspect of your role or workday could benefit from more awareness?
When awareness is paired with curiosity, leaders become the kind of leader others want to follow. Thoughtful, effective, and innovative solutions result. With so much information flowing at us every day, training our attention allows us to navigate what really matters, moment by moment.
This blog post is the first in a series. Read the next post in the series: Interpreting Generously: The Heart of Compassionate Connection.
More than 700 leaders from 54 countries around the world have taken our Compassionate Leadership Certification Training programs over the last few years, bringing the lessons they learn back into their own organizations and lives.
Our upcoming Compassionate Leadership Certification Training will build your compassion from the inside out and connect you with a powerful global peer community for ongoing growth, inspiration, and support. Find out more here.