Welcome back, leader. It's an honor to serve you today. I come to you after the floodings here in Texas in a somber yet conscious, energetic state for you. Most of you have seen the news with the fatalities and the destruction of these floods here in Central Texas. And I'm in Central Texas. And my community was one of the communities who got flooded. The San Gabriel River was for us. And just like you, I am watching on the news what is happening in our neighboring communities and our fellow Texans and what they are experiencing right now. Fortunately, my family and I were not in the direct effect of it, but my community was. And as a community, we come together. And as Texans, we come together. But like you, I was watching the news and watching these images. And my brain, it was as if the information that was coming through my eyes could not... comprehend it was like my brain was not believing what I was seeing so as I was seeing these these still images and these moving images of the flooding my brain couldn't process fast enough my brain was like is this real is this what's really happening And it took me a day or two because first it was like, okay, what is this? Because I've never seen anything like this before. I don't know what is happening. My brain could not catch up with what the reporter was saying, with what the images were displaying to me. It was as if my brain bypassed a meaning because it was so shocking that that it just didn't know how to process that because it needed to protect me from feeling some very hard feelings. So it took me about a day or two to really settle in and anchor into what was happening in our backyard. And this entire week has been moments of sorrow. combined with moments of anger, combined with some moments of frustration and overwhelm. And this entire week, it has taken me an entire week to come to you again with another podcast episode. Because I'm not like those other podcast people who have batched a dozen episodes at a time and, you know, drip them out every week. No, I come to you as close to the publishing date as possible. So I'm just like a day or two away from this being published for you because I've always been an energetic person who likes to be in the moment with the collective. What is happening now? Reporting now? How am I feeling now? What are my thoughts now? So that whole batching thing, it makes no sense to me. It may to you if you're a podcast host, but not to me. I want to stay current and in the energy. And so it has taken me almost an entire week to prepare myself to come to you live today. If you're watching this on one of the platforms, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, wherever you're watching this, or you are listening to this on Spotify, on Google Play, Amazon Audio, or Apple, wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. It has taken me a while to get to this point today where I could take a bath, get ready, and be here energetically focused for you. Because again, what is happening right now in Texas in particular is heavy. And there are some very heavy emotions that we are experiencing as Texans and you, whether you, you know, you're watching from afar and sending your prayers from afar, you too are experiencing this, this, this, destruction of, of our, of our lands, of our communities, of our families. I mean, it's been interesting. So I'm doing the best I can today for you because I don't want to fail you. I don't want to come on here and make a fool of myself. I want to be clear and emotionally energetic for you because every week I want to bring you something that you can use right away, again, in real life, in real time to make your leadership practice better. to help you be a better leader. So today's episode is a great one because of what I just experienced. What many of you, millions of you, or those in Texas who are directly affected by what's happened, this will resonate with you because of what we are all collectively experiencing. And the title of this podcast episode is called Stillness is a leadership strategy. What? Stillness is a leadership strategy? Are you kidding me, Denise? Some of you may be yelling at the screen or yelling at your phone or wherever you're listening to this. You're probably going, excuse me, what does that mean, stillness is a leadership strategy? Listen, we have lots of corporate strategies, don't we? as leaders, we have come up with our own strategies. We have borrowed strategies. We are using strategies from our predecessors. We have strategies upon strategies. Let me tell you, I love sharing this because a lot of my clients come to me because they have implemented a strategy or a strategic plan. And the results that this plan created yielded negative results, right? So they come to me because they've yielded negative results or subpar results, right? average, mediocre, but mostly yielding negative results. So when a potential client comes to me and says, this is why we may need your help. Here's what has happened. Here's the strategy we implemented. Here are the results. Can you help us clean this up? Because we don't understand this and we're going to need outside help. Great. So folks come to me with their results and usually negative results. And the first thing I tell them is, well, okay, before we do strategy and we talk about strategy, can we look at two other variables, super important variables? And number one is the mindset and number two are the skills. Because I've always said that there are three variables that you can must pay close attention to three variables that determine the success of your leadership practice. Only three. It's simple, but it's not easy. Leadership has never been easy, but I have made leadership so simple that there are only three variables and they are mindset, the skills. And number three strategy. So when a leader comes to me and says, Oh, we failed on our strategy. Well, we have two other variables that we need to talk to you about mindset and skill set. So strategy is really important, right? It is. It's one of the three variables that we have identified in my institute that will determine the success or failures, successes or failures of your leadership practice. And so when you come to me with those strategies, you know, sure, we can talk about strategy all day long. It's important, definitely important. So I know how important strategies are to action takers like us. Yeah. We are proactive leaders, you see. I'd like to think the majority of us watching or listening are proactive and not reactive leaders. But here we are with these strategies because we love strategy. My goodness, there's a strategy for everything. There's a tool for everything, right? Here is the goal. Here are the objectives. Here's what we want to accomplish as an institution, as an organization. Here are the metrics. Here are the KPIs, key performance indicators. So whatever you want to call them, we've got a goal, right? So now how do we get to this goal, you ask? Oh, there's some strategies. Let's pick a few. Let's see what has worked before. And then maybe something that's out there that's new, it's innovating, innovative. Maybe we can add that in the mix. cool. Listen, you are measured by the impact you make straight up. That's leadership, huh? You cannot deny that part of your role. We have to measure your success. This determines whether your leadership impact is successful. And so strategy, we cannot avoid. It's important. It's one of three variables that make up your leadership impact. Get it. Got it. Okay, Denise, move on. So how about I introduce to you a strategy that is unlike all the other strategies that you have used in the past? Now, remember, around here, we talk about contemplative leadership style. Contemplatives, the foundation is in the word. We contemplate. We are in stillness. We need to be in the present moment. We need to take a moment either to meditate, either to pray, but ultimately to contemplate. So how do you contemplate your work? How do you contemplate the actions you're going to take or the strategies you're going to implement? Huh? We take a pause. We take a moment. But stillness has never been considered a strategy in leadership before. Not until now, because contemplative leadership style requires that your number one leadership strategy is stillness. What? You want me to be still, Denise? Are you kidding? I've got to move quickly. I have to make decisions quickly. I have to make sure my team is on twenty four seven. I have to have an open door policy. I have these annual performance reviews I have to do. Are you kidding me? Like the culture will eat me up if I don't do this. But you want me to be still? Tell me why this is important. Again, we talk about contemplative leaders around here because we do this differently. We lead differently because what's important to us is our divine assignment and our sacred responsibilities to the collective. What? Yes, this is what sets us apart from all the other leaders out there. This is what's going to set you apart from your peers. I know it's mind blowing, right? What do you mean? Why is this so important? Because if you are frustrated, if you are overwhelmed, if you are enraged or apathetic or all these other emotions right now, currently in your leadership practice, if those are your dominant emotions and they fluctuate from day to day, one day you're frustrated, the next day you're overwhelmed. Then two weeks from now, you're apathetic. You're quiet quitting. But then a week after that, you're like, oh, okay, well, let me try again. And then again, the burnout comes in. It's a vicious cycle of these negative emotions. But here's what's incredibly amazing about that. Those are signals. Those are alert systems. Those are sirens going, hello, we got to talk about this leader. We're going to need to do this differently. And how about we entertain contemplative leadership style because we want to lead differently, don't we? We have a full career ahead of us. We can afford to leave. How many of you can afford to leave your jobs right now? I know I can't. I know you can't. I know many of us out here cannot do that. So how about we start looking at leading differently by using an emerging, highly controversial leadership style called contemplative leadership style. And the number one strategy to this leadership style is stillness. Stillness. What does that look like for you to be still? Can you imagine? Can you imagine being still for more than five minutes? Can you imagine being still for more than twenty? Could you imagine having tea with yourself and a divine presence or your higher calling every single morning? Are you kidding? What? What? Yes, I can imagine it because I do it every day and because I teach my clients this as well. This is what we do as contemplatives. You want to be a better leader? You want to lead with purpose, fulfillment? You want to have a transformational impact? Then how about we do things differently? How about we start with incorporating stillness as a strategy? And what does that look like for you? What could it look like for you? Could it look like meditation? Could it look like getting up ten minutes before the whole house wakes up? And taking a moment for yourself. It could look like pen and paper, journaling. I've talked about how journaling has saved this girl's life, let me tell you, as a very disturbed, highly traumatized Latina raised on the Texas-Mexican border with a lot of interesting things that a little girl should never have experienced, but did. Nonetheless, she did. I used pen and paper because this was the only way to get out those emotions. This was the only way for me to get it out of my body. I didn't know what else to do. Wasn't very athletic. Didn't want to move my body very much. I was lethargic. I couldn't help but barely pick up a pen and paper to write out my feelings. So I've always been a strong proponent of journaling. So what would that look like for you? Could it look like journaling? Could it look like pen and paper? Could it look like putting your earbuds in and putting on something on the Calm app? By the way, I love Calm. Calm app, amazing, helps with my anxiety big time. I put that in, I put some EDMR or I put some theta level beats in my ears and I feel the brain energy and the brain levels, the brainwave levels settling in. Like, oh, okay, we're reaching theta. Okay, calming down. Very nice. And sometimes I doze into a nap, which I'd never napped before in my life until doing contemplative leadership style, uh, principles. I have now been able to find ways that work for me that work for me may not for you, but could that be putting your earbuds in for just a few minutes, maybe doing some self-hypnosis. Ooh, I like the harmony app by the way. They're so great. Um, Who else do I have on my playlist, my apps? I'll have to come up with a list of things, resources that have helped me. And you know what? That's going to be my next project, to put a list of resources for contemplative leaders. Wouldn't that be exciting? So a little self-hypnosis may work. I do that when I'm at the edges of something where I'm feeling a lot of discomfort because I'm trying to change a behavior because the behavior has been yielding negative results for me. And it is time that I end that behavior and start something new. And because of the habits that have been formed, again, causing those negative results because of those behaviors, I have to rewire some things in my neurology. And self-hypnosis has always been the easiest way for me to release some of those entanglements. And it's almost like a ball of yarn sometimes. Those habits are just strongly held in this ball of yarn. And so self-hypnosis just easily, gently unravels it for you. So how about self-hypnosis for you? I'm sure there's some other great other apps. Grace Space. Grace Space is another one. And then Harmony, as I mentioned. So I have been listening to the Holo app. because I do my daily rosaries. For those of you who are not faithful, no big deal. You don't have to use an app like that. You can use other spiritual apps. I follow Spirit Daughters. She has an incredible app, again, for spiritual practices. So you can put in your earbuds and then do a meditation on her app, which is incredible. Gosh, there's so many things. How about just some music? How about some music? Like for me, jazz gets me settled. Like, you know, it's just the instruments. It's the genre that really excites me. And so what is that for you? Are you on Amazon radio? Are you on iTunes, Spotify? Do you have a playlist that you go to? So stillness doesn't have to be quiet. It doesn't have to be like a traditional meditative practice where you're not supposed to think. But listen, you can't stop your thoughts from running across your head while your eyes are closed. They're like clouds. They pop in, pop out. Some clouds are full of rain. Some clouds are full of rage, right? Some clouds are transparent, translucent. The sun's shining through. You can barely see them, right? thoughts are like these clouds. And so for me, it's very difficult to do a traditional meditative practice. I've never tried, but wasn't able to sustain that. So I found ways that helped me personally. So you may already have some very interesting ways. How about exercise? Some of you go out for a walk. Some of you put on a weighted vest and you hit the streets and you're like, I'm getting this out in the streets so that I can come back home refreshed and ready, right? Ready with my day, right? Some of you have to move. Some of you have to dance. Some of you have to go lift some weights. Some of you have to, you know, you may have to go for a run. So what does that look like for you? So don't get tripped up by the word stillness. It just means to contemplate. It just means taking a moment from your busy, chaotic leadership practice to separate yourself from that part of your life, to disconnect yourself from that part of your life, to take a moment for yourself. Because stillness is so important. We gain clarity from stillness. When you take a moment, disconnect, discharge, so that you can recharge, it's a moment for you to restore that clarity that you are looking for. Listen, we're leaders. We have to be clear in our decision-making. We have to be clear in what we want to accomplish. We have to be clear in the strategies that we implement, the skills that we have, the mindset that we have. Because if not, you will lead with ego. You will lead with ego. And Dr. Wayne Dyer, rest his soul, he used to say ego stood for etching God out. E-G-O. Ego. Right? Some of us are leading from fear, from anxiety, from despair, from scarcity. You know, some of us out here just need a time to disconnect and be clear on our intentions. And this is what stillness allows us to do. So what does that look like for you? Stillness renews your energy. We need your energetic body every day to show up. And when you're in burnout and you are exhausted, you are doing more damage to yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and most definitely spiritually. And you're also damaging your staff, your department, your direct reports. So you're not only impacting yourself, you're impacting others. So stillness allows us to renew this energy so that we can remember. So we can remind ourselves. why we're here why we were called to do these roles what what I could have done something completely different but I chose this in this industry to lead these people well how about we take a moment to renew that energy my friend and ultimately stillness reconnects us to our divine assignments contemplative leaders are so connected to our divine assignments. And it's taken a while for us to reconnect. Trust me. I know this because on my journey, I got distracted. I got turned away. I had detours upon detours. But I have found my way back to my divine assignment because I have allowed myself as a contemplative leader to put stillness as my top strategy. I will not take action. I will not behave. I will not do anything, make a move or tell my direct reports to do something until I have taken the time to be in stillness. And this is something I'm teaching my team to do as well. It's like, I'm going to take my few minutes to And thank you for all these brainstorming ideas, but I'm going to take some time to be still in what we just talked about today. And I'm going to encourage you to do the same. So don't take any actions yet. Let's not plan a strategic plan yet. Let's not design it yet. Yeah. Let's just take a moment to contemplate. If this feels in alignment with your energy, with your focus, with your direction, with your assignment, and if it does, let's come back and then let's really talk about how to implement and see what this could look like for us if we do implement this strategy or this idea or this strategic plan. So again, stillness restores your clarity. Stillness renews your energy. And stillness reconnects us to our divine assignments. So stillness can also... look like a five-minute breathing session, just some breath work. Breath work that is so simple. Breath work that allows you to be present in the moment, not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future, but being in your body, in this physical space, in this moment for five simple minutes. It's called a sacred pause. Put that in your agendas. Put it on your calendars. Put an alarm, set an alarm on your phone. Five-minute sacred pauses throughout your day. It's that simple, my friend. And I promise you, if you implement stillness as a strategy, if you make stillness your number one strategy, you are on your way to being a contemplative leader. who is connected to their divine assignment, who knows their sacred responsibilities to the collective, who has expansive vision, Because when you are still and you know your divine assignment and you know your sacred responsibilities, you are able to see above and beyond the average leader. You are able to see in five D instead of three D. You are able to see what others cannot see. This is part of contemplative leadership style. You have expansive vision and you embody this presence. You embody the presence. So anywhere you walk into, you know, walking into the boardroom, walking into the break room, walking to the parking lot, you have this embodied presence of a contemplative leader. Oh my goodness. And then ultimately transformational impact that you will have on your team, in your organization, in your communities, for your constituents, for your clients, for your stakeholders, for your customers. That's contemplative leadership style. How fantastic. But we need to put stillness into your strategic plan. It's got to be a priority for you. It's a strategy. Try it out for yourself and see the impact you can have when you take a moment to renew your energy, to renew the clarity, to reconnect to your divine assignment. You owe this to yourself, leader, and especially those that you lead. It's part of your sacred responsibility. to do the work. And I'm giving you a tool that you can use right now, right now. You don't need apps. You can start doing some breath work right now or start listening to some music that calms your nerves, calms your spirit, helps you reconnect to what you're doing in this world. Take this job seriously. Take this role seriously. Contemplative leadership style is quite a very serious style of leadership that you need to incorporate right away. All right, leader. I want to thank you for taking some time today with me to talk about stillness being your leadership strategy as a contemplative leader. I'm praying. I am Sending you all of my love, especially those who have been impacted by this devastation here in Central Texas. But also if you're witnessing this and you are maybe on the other side of the country, but you are feeling the impact of this energy, take good care of yourself as well, right? This is where stillness is going to be really helpful for us, for those of us who are suffering right now, either directly or indirectly. And then reach out, let me know how this strategy has impacted your leadership practice. You can reach me on Instagram at Dr. Denise Simpson or on LinkedIn at Dr. Denise Simpson. All right, leader, I'm wishing you a great rest of your day and I cannot wait to serve you again very soon. Take very good care.
