What is Conscious Capitalism?
Why Should Leaders Care?
Today’s business landscape is a rapidly changing one that reflects:
- A better educated, better connected and more informed global community than anytime before.
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- Greater expectations and demands placed on businesses by employees, customers, suppliers, investors, and/or community members.
- Global competitive pressures, uncertain economic times, ethical practices, and growing environmental issues.
In her book, “Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism”, Patricia Aburdene identifies the business benefits of good corporate citizenship which includes financial returns that often beat the market and its peers and enhanced company brand. She also highlights the downsides for organizations that has a
What is Conscious Leadership?
Conscious Leadership is a component of conscious business and foundational to Conscious Capitalism. Conscious leaders are driven primarily by service to the firm’s purpose, rather than by power or money. Servant leaders create a culture of trust, authenticity, caring, transparency, integrity, learning and empowerment—represented by the acronym TACTILE . The Conscious Leadership Consultancy contrasts conscious leadership with traditional leadership in “Coordinates of a Conscious Leader”.
John Mackey argues that a new breed of leaders is called for and he describes what he looks for when selecting leaders within his own organization. Rather than being attracted to leadership positions for traditional motives (power and money), he looks for leaders who are drawn towards servant leadership and they possess the following types of intelligence:
- Emotional Intelligence
- Spiritual Intelligence
- Systems Intelligence
You can listen to Mackey’s presentation at the Conscious Capitalism Conference 2013 where he discusses his perspectives on leadership. (John begins his presentation 4.5 minutes into the clip).
In this clip from Conscious Capitalism.org, the characteristics of conscious leaders are also described.
Another perspective comes from Marie Legault who identifies five leader competencies and offers recommendations on how organizations can develop them.
- Advanced Leadership requires breaking mental boundaries and challenging norms to effect real change.
- Leadership Agility demands leading effectively during rapid change; growing complexity and interdependence.
- Integral Leadership involves looking at complex problems through the various “AQAL lenses” in order to better view and effectively deal with them.
- Conscious Leadership is driven primarily by a desire to serve the organization’s purpose while simultaneously delivering value to all stakeholders. Leaders view their organizations as part of a complex, interdependent, and evolving system with multiple stakeholders.
- Ethicful Leadership means establishing ethical cultures that contribute to the greater good of others or all living things.
Ovidiu Brazdau, a Romanian psychologist, coined the term ‘Consciousness Quotient’(CQ) in 2009. His research suggests that a person with a higher CQ has access to a wider range of information which facilitates an intuitive decision-making process. The Consciousness Quotient Inventory is available free online. In addition to an overall quotient, the assessment provides your scores on these six factors:
- Physical Consciousness– the ability of being aware of one’s body and of the actual elements of the environment.
- Emotional Consciousness– the ability of being aware of one’s emotions and feelings, of any emotional experience in general.
- Mental (Cognitive) Consciousness– the ability of being aware of one’s own ideas and thoughts, of the cognitive flow in general.
- Spiritual Consciousness– the ability of being aware that humans are part of the universe and also the ability of being aware of the multiple connections with the life that surrounds us.
- Social and Relational Consciousness– the ability of being aware of the relations and connections with the people around us.
- Self-Consciousness– the ability of being aware of one’s self and ego.
While Brazdau was not concerned specifically with Conscious Leadership in his research, his work has sparked interest in the leadership development field and you can see the overlap between his six actors and those proposed by leadership commentators. In particular, Hayden and de Jager argue in “CQ Demystifying the Consciousness Quotient” that, “Businesses and business leaders can develop a sustainable competitive (and cooperative) business advantage by incorporating a thorough understanding and management of human consciousness - in other words, having leaders who possess a higher CQ.”
How to Become a Conscious Leader
Research suggests that only one in five adults in developed countries has reached the capacity to think, feel, and act with a world-centric view (Cook-Greuter “Postautonomous Ego Development: A Study of Its Nature and Measurement"). In addition to studying the recommended resources below, the following reflective questions are intended to broaden your thinking and enable the development of greater understanding of the importance of Conscious Leadership:
- Think about business decisions you are making today or have made recently. Are you considering the impact on all (internal and external) stakeholders? Are you consciously thinking of how to create “win/win” scenarios for all stakeholders?
- Do you find yourself, your teams and your organization operating from a reactive stance versus being in the driving seat of the outcomes you want?
- Do you react to your base instincts or operate from a place of deliberate and conscious choice. How does your approach compare to the behavior of your peers?
- Are you aware of your personal motivations in the workplace? Do you operate with the best interests of the team and organization in mind, even if this does not further personal interests?
- How conscious are you of ethical factors in your work? How important are ethical and environmental considerations to you, your team, your organization and your community?
AJO’s Recommended Reading & Activities
Books
- Aburdene, P. (2007). Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism. Hampton Roads Publishing Company Inc.
- Greenleaf, R.K. & Spears, L.C. (2002). Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. 25th Anniversary Edition. Paulist Press
- Kofman, F. (2006). Conscious Business: How to Build Value Through Values. Sounds True Inc.
- Mackey, J. & Sisodia , S. (2013). Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
- Marcum, D. & Smith, S.B. (2009). egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Assess (or Most Expensive Liability). Simon & Schuster.
Articles:
- Browne, J. & Nuttal, R. (March 2013). Beyond corporate social responsibility: Integrated external engagement.
- Coates, B. (PhD) (2007). Leadership-driven “Conscious Capitalism” and the Triple Bottom Line.
- Hayden, G. & de Jager, K. “CQ Demystifying the Consciousness Quotient.” This excellent paper includes an overview of the qualities of a Conscious Leader and ideas for developing your CQ.
- Hayden, G. (2011). Catching the Wave of Conscious Leadership.
- Legault , M. (2012) Conscious Capitalism: Leaders and Organizations with a World View. Integral Leadership Review; March 2012, Vol. 12 Issue 2, p1
- Mackey, J. & Sisodia , S. (2013). "Conscious Capitalism" Is Not An Oxymoron. HBR Blog Network Jan 14, 2013.
- Mackey, J. Conscious Capitalism Creating a New Paradigm for Business.
- Schawbel, D. (2013). John Mackey: Why Companies Should Embrace Conscious Capitalism. Forbes Jan 15, 2013
RSS Feeds
- The Conscious Leadership Consultancy. Sign up to receive blog postings via email or follow the blog with this newsfeed in your RSS reader.
Tap Into These Resources:
- Academy for Conscious Leadership includes a faculty of Whole Foods Market Team Members and thought leaders and is designed to expose leaders to ideas that challenge their perspectives and consider a new reality.
- Conscious Capitalism is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating the theory and practice of Conscious Capitalism. This website includes a section on Conscious Leadership with recommended reading and video clips. You can also watch highlights from the 2013 Conference held in San Francisco in April.
- Conscious Quotient Inventory (CQ-i) is a free online assessment that measures six dimensions of awareness/consciousness and is used to evaluate personal development. You will get your results immediately after completing this inventory.
- The Global Institute for Conscious Leadership. Founded in 2012, the goal of the Institute is to highlight the impact of the ego on leadership effectiveness and assist leaders to make the move from ‘me’ to ‘we’ in leadership.
- The Conscious Leadership Consultancy offers links, blogs, thoughts and ideas on how to develop yourself as a Conscious Leader and your business as a conscious business.
- New Models of Business in Society. This free course is 5 weeks long and begins in September 2013. The course instructor is Professor R. Edward Freeman.