In the last six months I have received two distinguished awards for my own leadership. I was completely surprised both times and each time I was surprised by the impact they each had on me, emotionally but also energetically. I felt a deep sense of gratitude for myself the first time - Silver for Leader Of The Year from Women Changing The World - as if in one deep emotion that filled my heart sat all that I had done in my life in service to others, the energy I had given thes

Your thoughts are like a live-stream, you are criticising what you just thought, you are feeling off-balance and you are about to yell in frustration. Sound familiar? What do you want instead? A clear mind, a calm heart, a good decision, and an effective next action would probably be your choice, if you are anything like me or the many people I have coached. In this scenario, or any stressful moment, you are battling your three voices. What are they...? 1. The babbling voi

Listening to world women speakers at the Women Economic Forum last year it struck me that leadership is too general as a term. Replace the word 'leadership' with 'influence' and you get to the real definition. So let's start talking about 'women in influencing roles' rather than leadership roles. Leadership is influence.... ESSENTIAL PRESENCE Women need a personal presence that comes from their own essence. A power that influences rather than demands, and deep self-assuranc

Just as there are phases of grief there are phases to change. This is especially evident as we grapple with the global changes thrust on us through the Covid-19 pandemic. Handling our emotions effectively underpins all of our reactions, activities and decisions. PHASE 1 ROUTINE The first 3 weeks of lockdown, saw us sorting out the demands of our new routines and ensuring we could connect not only for work but for our mental health. (Emotionally, we were creating greater cert

How do you find your way into your wisdom amidst the noise of distracting, superficial thought and information? Why would you try...? Maybe we know we are missing out on something far more expansive, visionary and world-changing. Maybe the answers are simple - too simple for us to be interested. Maybe we could find not only truth but happiness as well. How would your world change if you knew that success is right in the palm of your hand when you stop right where you are an

Listening to world women speakers at the Women Economic Forum last year. Replace the word 'leadership' with 'influence' and you get to the real definition. So let's start talking about 'women in influencing roles' rather than leadership roles. Leadership is influence.... A common theme recently with leaders has been, 'How do I know it's not just my ego?' Their passion is pulled back and held at the edge of powerful release into full expression of true self as their purposef

A journal entry from my days living in my home country of Australia... "Yesterday became a wonderful 'self-care' day. 8am yoga class, acupuncture, a light lunch, an hour in 21 deg. sun on my local beach with Vogue watching kids and dogs romping, a nap, then off to chant before sleep. Bliss! And so rejuvenated." We often do these things to 'heal' some part of ourselves. We do 'self-care' to move away from dis-ease. In a Conscious life these things are life, a life worth liv

Someone asked, 'What is "consciousness"?' The dictionary says quite simply 'awareness'. Plato says, 'Awareness of awareness.' When you are aware of being aware you are in touch with your pure authentic Self who is always the witness of your existence, physical and eternal. Practice being aware of when you are aware. What is your experience? How do you coach 'consciousness'? We want to live our best, using all the 'feminine' soft skills we have developed as expressions of ou

Recently I hosted a personal transformation program. Here 's the 3-step contemplation I led: 1. What one practice have you fully imbibed and implemented in your leadership? 2. How has it changed your life? 3. How has it changed others' lives for the better? One woman shared that she had been told how humble she was as a leader because she truly listened. She aimed to be fully present to others and not fear the problem presented at the time, her cohort also had the great gi

IS YOUR WOMANLY SPIRIT MISSING FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP? Women have a strong spirit, unshakeably wise and deeply intuitive, yet common leadership training doesn’t make room for these essential skills. The result is both sides miss out – you as an authentic leader and those who follow your lead. Spiritual intelligence gives you deep trust in your inner guidance; creates strength, zest and charisma; improves your relationships; opens your vision to creative solutions; fosters clar

I heard a story recently about a consulting coach who sacked herself from a large client because they just weren't serious about making the change they espoused. She wanted the work but was violating her own values knowing the change she was engaged to create was not supported. It seems she was the conscious leader - the company leaders weren't ready to take the brave step forward. It's time to get serious at the top. What do those in charge truly fear? Do they trust thems

TRANSCENDENT COMPANIES are organisations who are so Conscious they easefully go beyond not only realising the full potential of their employees they transcend the mundane to ensure they are positively affecting social transformation. Think Southwest Airlines, Google, Starbucks, Whole Foods Market, Patagonia. Consider if your company takes care of the 4 tenets of transcendence: 1. A higher purpose 2. Stakeholder focus 3. Conscious culture 4. Conscious leadership Check out

MINDFULNESS FOR CONSCIOUS LEADERS In leadership development we use personality profiles to diagnose potential and behaviour, but do you know how to diagnose your thoughts? Three states of mind make up our menu of choice. Here's a simple method of identifying your own state of mind drawn from yogic understanding of the mind: 1. Inertia, apathy, insensitiveness, indifference 2. Uncontrolled, busy, desiring, worrying, criticising, frustration 3. Calm, resourceful, compassionat

Almost every coaching session I have done has pointed at a deep, painful need that is usually described as 'work-life balance'. The problem is this implies that somehow we are juggling the proportion of time or energy or focus we can give to all the various aspects of our life, including work. It isn't possible. What we need is to find a way to create harmony and it is made up of three key items: Purpose Personality Desires If you work to unify these three things you will

I have been asked this a few times recently so here are some ways to describe it, in relation to the three levels at which Conscious leadership operates - self, others, planet - as an integrated, wholistic view of self, others and the world. The triad is essential to have in place to form a solid foundation for world service, starting with Self-leadership as the base of all effective Conscious leadership. Level One Self: Practising self-awareness and self-leadership by se

Do we really have the right perspective on 'fear'? How do we befriend fear and succeed without it? With the focus on unacceptably high levels of mental ill-health and anxiety pervading our workplaces right now, we need to find better ways to work. Fear has too much power - enough to change our minds and our chemistry. But it doesn't need to be what it used to be, this great bogey 'Fear'. Awareness is powerful An executive banking manager was having frequent panic attacks in

What do fencing, tae kwon do and wrestling have in common? Two sparring partners determined to take each other down. There can only be one winner. We see it in the workplace when two people compete for attention or reward. It is easy to spot as the battle usually gets bigger until someone has to bow out. What is harder to spot is the internal sparring that goes on inside us, almost daily. Meet The Players Who are the competing partners? The ego and the Wise Advocate. The E

'Here is John. See John run. Here is Betty. See Betty run. Here is Spot. See Spot run.' The John and Betty books I grew up with at school supposedly taught me to read and expand my language. But, given the topics, they didn't teach me much about life. Kids run, and so do dogs it seems. How life-expanding is the learning in your organisation? Or are you suffering from the effects of 'lazy-learning'? And is your L&D falling into lazy habits too? The Five Levels of Conscious L

These Millennials are causing a lot of conversation and some of it with consternation. They want to move fast, disrupt status quo, develop themselves deeply, broadly, widely, quickly, and have a flexible work-life balance that allows them to stay fit and embrace their lives away from work. At the same time they want to have positive social impact and be part of an ethical community of global change agents. Wealth would be good too... and love. Are they the dreamers of the fu

How do you answer a question like that? I was recently asked my opinion on the state of learning and development globally. Not just a small question… and how do you answer it, in truth? The reason most people leave their jobs, other than problems with their immediate manager, is lack of progression and development. Salary is always in the mix, but I am seeing a shift into a greater decider that is a need not only for job satisfaction but deep personal fulfilment from work.