Focused Leaders stay fit and in harmony!

 

Have you come across a Chinese idiom ”野人獻曝 “ Yěrén xiàn pù from Song during the Warring Period of China (around 400 BC)? The literal translation was “A peasant farmer wishes to present to the emperor the greatest benefit of the sun (the offer: when the sun shines on our backs keeps us warm and comfortable during the winter season)” It was obviously from the farmer’s perspective, not knowing that the emperor had a fur coat and was well provided for in the grand palace :-). This farmer’s naive realization from real life experiences then transcends the idiom into an expression of “providing a humble commonly-known small contribution to the elite”. With deep sincerity, this is what encouraged me to share with you today. I do treasure every moment when life is integrated and in harmony. All the best wishes for carrying out your goals with great results, and much success throughout the New Year and many more!

My first share is Daniel Goleman’s The Focused Leader for staying fit:

Daniel Goleman developed the five components of “emotional intelligence” and his 1995 book of the same title popularized the term and brought EQ to the bestseller’s list. We all can use a little more emotional intelligence to increase our wellbeing and our success. I highlight the Relationship Management as it touches upon the Inspirational Leadership, Developing Others, and Influence, being a Change Catalyst, Conflict Management, Building Bonds, and Teamwork & Collaboration while Social Awareness encompasses Empathy, Organizational Awareness and Service Orientation.

In this 2013 article at Harvard Business Review, Goleman discussed the three modes of attention as focusing on self, focusing on others and focusing on the wider world (similar to the Chinese classics “The Great Learning”: the progression to create harmony in the world. “禮記大學”：格物、致知、誠意、正心、修身、齊家、治國、平天下). Goleman stated “Every leader needs to cultivate this triad of awareness, in abundance and in the proper balance, because a failure to focus inwards leaves you rudderless, a failure to focus on others renders you clueless, and a failure to focus outward may leave you blindsided.”   

Goleman further elaborated "the Empathy Triad" in focusing on others as it is more than just a single attribute. They are: Cognitive empathy - the ability to understand another person's perspective; Emotional empathy - the ability to feel what someone else feels; Empathic concern - the ability to sense what another person needs from you.

Goleman concludes, "A focused leader is not the person concentrating on the three most important priorities of the year, or the most brilliant systems thinker, or the one most in tune with the corporate culture. Focused leaders can command the full range of their own attention: They are in touch with their inner feelings, they can control their impulses, they are aware of how others see them, they understand what others need from them, they can week out distractions and also allow their minds to roam widely, free of preconceptions."

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to focus when and where we need our skills and competence the most for leadership effectiveness? The world needs more focused leaders. It all takes practice and diligence. Let’s continue the journey and keep going!

My second share is the 38 ways yoga keeps fit:

We need to be willing to exercise our brain with the attention and intent and staying fit emotionally as well as physically for the whole body. This leads to my sharing of the 38 ways yoga improves health: a personal experience and research from Timothy McCall, MD. This is the most comprehensive list I have come across. Besides healing and building strength, yoga helps us better serve others.

Maybe it will inspire us to spring into action. Take the 30-day challenge. No matter what kind of sports or exercises you enjoy, simply keep it up and do it regularly with friends or with smiles. Life is better when we stay fit and in harmony. I am very thankful. It will be a beautiful and fantastic year! Namaste!