Team Growth Journey: Exploring Conscious Leadership
Collaboratio helvetica is self-organised and operates along the collaboration principles of Sociocracy 3.0. After having had significant changes within the team, the collective decision was taken to embark on a learning journey that would help us grow closer as a team, enhance our communication skills, and ultimately become better at what we do.
Different approaches were discussed until we decided to explore the Conscious Leadership approach by the Conscious Leadership Group. We felt this approach to be the most beneficial for the team, as it covers a wide range of topics that are central to personal development, leadership, and teamwork.
In autumn 2023, we started our journey, individually working through the book, with weekly explorations and discussions of the different aspects. We embraced each commitment as a chance to grow individually while creating a common language for how we want to show up at work.
As we worked through the commitments, we were able to use the new tools to directly tackle unfolding challenges, reveal underlying tensions, or enhance our interpersonal relationships.
The biggest challenge was the commitment to time – with a team that works part-time, we needed to make the conscious decision to invest in this endeavour, even if time seemed to be lacking. After doing so, we are happy to have made this investment, it has improved many aspects of how we work together and continues to inform how we tackle new challenges.
How do you ensure alignment and a healthy work culture in your team?
What exactly is Conscious Leadership?
“...conscious leaders experience what is here now and respond in the moment. They are not trapped in old patterns. They are free to lead and serve others, their organization, the world, and themselves.”
– Excerpt from The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp
According to the preface of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership – A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success (2014) by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp, the approach is grounded in the following beliefs:
Current leadership models are effective in achieving certain goals such as financial success and market dominance, while also providing frameworks for training. However, they fall short in sustainability on three crucial levels.
Personal: Despite financial success, leaders often struggle with finding purpose, satisfaction, and balance in their lives.
Organisational: These models fail to sustain vibrant, creative, and profitable organisations with engaged teams in the long term.
Planetary: Most models are based on scarcity and win/lose competition, which harms the planet and future generations due to unsustainable practices.
Overall, current leadership models are effective in some aspects but lack sustainability and fail to address personal fulfilment, organisational vitality, and planetary well-being.
An overview of the 15 commitments for conscious leadership:
Taking Radical Responsibility
Learning Through Curiosity
Feeling All Feelings
Speaking Candidly
Eliminating Gossip
Practicing Integrity
Generating Appreciation
Excelling in Your Zone of Genius
Living a Life of Play and Rest
Exploring the Opposite
Sourcing Approval, Control and Security
Having Enough of Everything
Experiencing the World as an Ally
Creating Win for All Solutions
Being the Resolution
Bibliography: Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, Kaley Warner Klemp. The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership – A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success, 2014.