Hey, welcome back, leader. So you've returned for more. I'm so glad that you did today because we're going to go about ten layers deeper into the contemplative leadership style definition. What is it? Why have you been priming the pump with us, Denise? Why have you been leaving us breadcrumbs? It's time to take us a few layers deeper. And I'm so happy to do that today because contemplatives, listen, you and I, we're We're contemplatives. You may think you're not, but hear me out. We are the kind of leaders that don't like the superficial on the surface meaning of leadership. Like, no, we're not here to just call it in or phone it in. No, we're here to go about ten layers deep, right? Or maybe even more. Because while our peers are on the surface of the ocean, Right. They're at the effect of whatever is happening out there in the sky with the weather systems, with the animals, with the, with the, with the humans, like they're on the surface bobbing and weaving and however the flow takes them, they're going with it. But contemplatives, you and I, oh no, no, we are the anchor, you see? So we plummet, plummet all the way down to the ocean floor. This is where it is still. This is where it is quiet. This is the place where we get to reflect, we get to meditate, we get to pray, we get to contemplate. how we show up as leaders. You see, we're anchors. We're not on the surface. That's not who we are as contemplatives. We are grounded, oh, deeply embedded in that ocean floor, my friend. We are rock steady. You can bet on us. You can believe in us and trust us and bet on us. So while our peers are on the surface bobbing and weaving and at the effect of everything and everybody else, no, we are the anchor that's holding this ship down. See, contemplatives lead differently. And this is why it's important that we talk about the surface level symptoms that you have experienced, that your peers are experiencing, that we have been made to believe through our culture, organizational culture, societal culture, leadership culture, that these symptoms are normal and that they're part of the plan. They're part of being a leader. But I'm here to tell you that that is... And that is not accurate. And we're going to get into why those symptoms need to be addressed, number one. But number two, why? those symptoms actually telling us right what are what are the actual root cause the root causes of these symptoms because we tend to mask these symptoms we find coping strategies that are very beneficial for us right or some some are but but because we're trying to numb a behavior we're trying to numb a feeling we're trying to numb a symptom of a greater problem So this is why it's important that as contemplatives, we take those surface level symptoms and we go down, down, down to the root cause of what is causing these symptoms. There's a greater problem down below. And we need to, as contemplatives, get to the bottom, no pun intended, but get to the bottom of these diseases, the actual root cause of these symptoms. There's some deeper problems down below that nobody wants to look at, that nobody wants to acknowledge, and nobody wants to admit to. It's like, what is it going to take For a leader to say, yeah, I'm crappy. Yep, I'm a crappy leader. Yep, I don't even know what the heck I'm doing. I'm just a lousy leader. Like, what is it going to take? Public humiliation? Is it going to take going to a Coldplay concert and getting caught on TV? Wow. Talk about power dynamics with those two. Oh, interesting. Interesting. So what is it going to take for us to say and be honest with ourselves? Hey, listen, I don't know what the hell I'm doing and I'm going to need some help. Or, you know, these are symptoms that Denise is talking about. And I actually want to get to the deeper rooted cause here because, huh, I'm tired of living at the effect. at the effect of others, at the effect of this, you know, organizational culture that is so toxic and is so fake and everyone here is so delusional and I am tired of it. What will it take for you to say this for yourself? Self-honesty, my friends. Like, is it gonna take the pressure and pain and contrast? Like, what is it gonna take for you to say, I can't, you know what, I'm worthy of more and I'm tired of feeling this frustration and I'm tired of feeling this overwhelm and I'm just, you know, we gotta do something about this. So before you resign or put in your two weeks notice, because you may have been quiet quitting this whole time, but before you leave that organization, Give us a moment here because this could save you, your team, your workforce, your organization, and this leadership style, dare I say, can save the world. Contemplative leadership style is unlike anything you've seen before. I'm not knocking all those incredible leadership styles that have empirical research for lifetimes. I get it. We love them. I have studied them. I have a PhD in leadership studies. So I know the historical record studies, empirical research on all of it, on all of it. which is why I'm so excited to be able to bring to you a leadership style that is unlike anything you have experienced, you have learned about, or I have ever seen or experienced or learned about, and introduce this to you in the times we are leading in now. Here's the movement. It's for you, the collective. We have got to be alert. These symptoms that we have been enduring, that we have been passively enduring, it's time for us to take a closer look at them. It's time for us to change the way we lead. It's time for us to learn about a new leadership style that will change the world. So let's get into contemplative leadership style because we We contemplate, we contemplate. Yep. The core definition is in the, is in the, in this phrase, contemplative leadership style. We contemplate before we go take action. And we're going to get into a more, a more specific definition, but, but let's, let's, let's get our toes wet before we anchor down below. Okay. Let's get our toes wet. So contemplatives take a very different approach. We are not in this chaotic, crisis-driven, anger, apathetic, all those other symptoms that you have experienced. We see it, we notice it, we feel it, and we're aware of them, right? So when we get triggered because of a circumstance, we contemplatives go, wait a minute. well, that doesn't feel right. And I don't want to feel this way. And actually, I'm worthy of not feeling this way, by the way. I'm actually not wanting to experience this anymore. So contemplatives are self-aware. We're highly aware. We're emotionally aware of ourselves and, of course, of our teammates, of our employees, our followers. And so we take a moment When we are nudged in some way, we can use the word trigger, we can use the word activated, whatever, depends on, you know, in what context. But when you are nudged with some kind of emotional distress, that's when contemplatives go, hold the phone, hmm? Put my calls on hold, all right? Do not disturb because I need to take a moment to contemplate this. Now, I know I'm a leader in a fast-paced industry. I know that the culture here will eat me alive if I don't make fast decisions. Listen, urgency is important as a leader. Oh, we're not saying do not act. On the contrary, we're saying before you act, how about we take a moment, take a beat, take a step back? and contemplate before we make decisions. Because when emotions are high, logic is low. Hear me when I say this. When emotions are high, logic decreases. This is the research. This is the neuroscience. You can go look that up. call it up on Google, you will see that there is an impact that happens in your decision-making when emotion is heightened. And how many of us get activated in the workplace? How many of us, you know, close the door behind us. We have a moment for ourselves because we're pissed off or angry. Something just took place. Someone just undermined you. Someone undervalued your gifts. Somebody out there did something to you. Now you're at the effect. of that behavior, of their words, of that circumstance. So you're heightened, you're elevated, you're triggered, you're activated. But the contemplative says, yeah, okay, because I'm human. This is normal. But because of the neuroscience, because when emotion is high, logic is low, whoa, my job's on the line here. So I'm going to pull back. I'm going to pull back. I'm going to anchor. I'm going to anchor here on this ocean floor, and I'm going to just wiggle my way into the sand, and I'm just going to stay right here for a moment. Because the world's going to keep moving, right? Earth is going to keep rotating, but I'm going to need for the contemplative to take a beat. in her own space, in her own refuge, because this is where we contemplate before we take massive action. And by the way, that massive action, it's a different type of action than you would have taken had you not taken a moment, had you not taken a moment to contemplate. So see, contemplatives go, yeah, I'm not at the effect of you all because I'm the anchor, you see. So I've done the work and I'm still doing the work. This isn't like a cure-all for every circumstance, for every situation. It doesn't mean I'm changed forever. No, it means that I am highly aware of my own emotions, my heightened emotions, and I'm also aware when I need time to pull back and contemplate. That's the anchor in this scenario. So you're not on that surface, my friend. You can experience those symptoms, but you're not at the effect of those symptoms, right? Because you're on that surface of the ocean. But because you're the contemplative, no, you're the anchor. You pull all the way down below where it is still, where you can take deep breaths, where you can neutralize your nervous systems. When you can put your conscious mind back online, where your prefrontal cortex is saying, ah, thank you. I'm here. I'm back. Let's discuss this. So the contemplative is a very different leader, which is why we lead differently. So contemplative leadership style is spiritually grounded. It is presence-centered leadership approach. Let's start with spiritually grounded. This is important. Listen, this isn't religion. We're not talking about a religious order. We're not talking about sacred texts. We're not talking about... dogma. We are talking about spirituality, meaning that you have a divine assignment, a greater calling that you have forgotten about because of all of those surface level symptoms of leadership. You have forgotten that you entered the pipeline of leadership years ago and with a very different perspective. It has now changed because of the circumstances. But my friend, I'm here to remind you, and this leadership style is here to remind you that you were anointed, not appointed for leadership. You were anointed, not appointed, meaning that you have a divine assignment to this collective that you have chosen to lead in. Because my divine assignment is unlike yours. Yours is unlike his. His is unlike theirs. So let's remember that. This is why this leadership style is nothing like you've ever seen before, because it is a spiritually grounded, presence-centered leadership approach. presence centered. That's the anchor. That's the anchor in this scenario. You are present. You're right here in the moment. Knowing that on that surface are some interesting symptoms and people that are at the effect of others, the effect of the economy, at the effect of the government and the administrative decisions that are happening right now. They're at the effect. Ooh, and it's painful up here, my friend. It is painful up here. But the contemplative says, no, I'm the anchor. Okay, let me get grounded. Let me get rooted. Let me remember why I was called to do this. Let me remember my divine assignment. Let me remember that with this divine assignment comes sacred responsibility, so I'm going to anchor right here, right now. Ooh, that's a contemplative. That's the presence-centered approach to leadership. That balances the inner life of a leader with the outer demands of organizational impact. Let me repeat that again. Contemplative leadership style is a spiritually grounded, presence-centered leadership approach that balances the inner life of the leader with the outer demands of organizational impact. What? Yeah, because you still have to show up and lead. That's right. We need to balance the inner life of a leader. with the outer demands of organizational impact because you are measured on your success. You want to climb that corporate ladder? You got to show some results, my friend. So we still have to show up and show out, my friend. This is about impact and you're being measured all the time. What do you think those performance reviews are about? For those of you who are wanting to promote, Take a look at your impact. You're going to be measured against your predecessor and you're going to be measured against yourself a year or two ago, right? So we still have to keep into account the impact we have as leaders. So is this centered around the leader? Yes, and balances the outer demands of organizational impact. So we're looking at you, leader. We're helping you, leader. We're serving you, the leader, so that you can show up and show out and so that you can be the anchor that we are all desperate to have right now. This is why I believe this leadership style will save the world. But let's start with you. Let's first start with you. Let's have you try this leadership style on. So again, that definition is contemplative leadership style is a spiritually grounded presence centered leadership approach that balances the inner life of a leader with the outer demands of organizational impact. That's the definition. Now we operationalize this because you conceptualize and operationalize a leadership theory, right? Well, that's what we do in research. And so there are frameworks within this leadership style, constructs that we use in this leadership style that provide us with the balance of the inner life of that leader, with the outer demands of organizational impact. So we have frameworks that help us put this into practice, right? Like what's the point of a good theory? You can't put it into practice. So we marry theory with pragmatic measures here because we too are in this field of study, my friend, and we too want to collect eventually empirical research because we too want to sample populations out there who are using this leadership style. So that is in the future works for us. So right now, It's an emerging leadership style. are you brave enough to try this on for yourself? Are you someone who will say, okay, I recognize those symptoms. I've seen it in myself. I've seen it in my peers. And I'm tired of being on that surface, bobbing and weaving and at the effect of a storm that comes through at the effect of when the sun is going to shine at the effect of when surfers are going to be bobbing all over my head at the effect of, you know, pelicans or, or birds coming in and, and swooshing in around me or sharks that are on the surf. Like, Am I going to continue to live this way and lead this way? Or have I had enough? Or have I reached my saturation point? like a sponge. Try to load that sponge up with more water than it's capable of holding, and you'll have a useless sponge. So you're going to have to wring out the sponge so that it can be effective again, right? So it can actually carry some water there. So it could do its job. So it could be efficient and effective. So you've reached saturation point. It's time to wring out that sponge. And this is how you get to do this as a leader. So contemplatives, take deeper meanings. We take those surface level symptoms and we go, oh, there's a deeper problem underneath here. I'm going to actually dive down below like an anchor. I'm going to let that momentum take me down to the ocean floor. And I'm going to bury my anchor in this sand for just a moment because those symptoms, we need to stop those symptoms. But is there a disease that is showing these symptoms that we haven't seen yet? We haven't diagnosed yet, right? That's what symptoms are, right? You have a symptom. Well, is there a deeper root cause here? Is there a disease that we haven't diagnosed yet? Like, can we talk about the deeper problems that we have as leaders? you don't want to be at the effect of everybody else of the world of all these crazy variables no no no no you want to be the anchor who's assured who's certain who is spiritually grounded because she knows she has a higher calling because she knows she was put on this earth for something bigger and greater than she can imagine herself what and when you are spiritually grounded you can't help but live in the present moment You're not worried about the past, although some of us have some interesting histories, but this is why this leadership style is going to help you heal those traumas and those past experiences. That the contemplative who is living in her purpose, who is highly available for herself and her team, who is self-aware, who is emotionally aware, She is present. She's here. She's in the moment, anchored down below. That's the thing. You can't contemplate about the past. You're going to have to contemplate about what's happening right now, today, and how you can solve these problems now. Because your actions today will impact your future. So this is a spiritually grounded present moment. focus, presence-centered approach that balances the inner life of a leader with the outer demands of organizational impact. So if you're intrigued by this leadership style, Hang tight. Hang tight. Join me and other anchors because we are doing the work of putting this leadership style into practice. We're doing the work of putting this leadership style into various industries, various populations out here because we have a framework. We have constructs. We are building out assessments right now to measure the impact of this very unique emerging leadership style. We're on the forefront, my friend, because we are living in the present moment and we are seeing the chaos. We are seeing the pain. We know those symptoms on the surface and we're solving this problem because we have anchored ourselves at the bottom of the ocean floor and we're going, we have got to help our leaders today. And here is how we're going to do it. contemplation needed to happen for us to have discovered and founded this very unique leadership style. contemplation had to happen. It was the precursor. It had to come before the creation of this leadership style. So we're doing the work. We've done the work. We're samples of what we're doing in this very specific style of leadership. This is how contemplative leadership style came about. And my team and I are excited to put this out into the world. We're excited to keep talking about it over and over and over again, because there are millions of people that we're going to reach, millions of leaders out here that we're going to reach who are desperate for a change. They're desperate to lead differently. And this is how you're going to do that. So I have a wait list for the universal leader. The universal leader principles are what helps us operationalize this leadership style. So there are principles that we have and that we're going to measure against in the future. These are the constructs we're going to use to measure. But this program is called the Universal Leader. And we are having our first cohort opening very soon. You're going to want to get on the wait list and find out what this is all about. Find out how we can support you, leader, and how you can use this leadership style right away. You're going to learn the principles. You're going to learn the frameworks. You're going to learn how to use this in pragmatic ways in your organization or in your nonprofit or in your community, even in your families. So you're going to want to join us ASAP on that. Put your name on that wait list. It's not a commitment to join. It's a wait list so that you can be the first to learn about this cohort that's opening up very soon and how you're going to work directly with me. Oh, so it's going to be so exciting. So anchor, AKA contemplative, AKA leader who is ready to do things differently. This is your chance. So be brave. Have the courage to say, yes, I want to do things differently. No judgment here. No self-judgment on your end either. You just want to lead differently and you know that there's a better way to do it. And I'm going to show you how. So join the wait list wherever you are listening to this or watching this. There should be a link wherever you are at and join us so that you can hear more about this next cohort opening. Okay, leader. Thank you for your time. Thank you for taking time for yourself. And I look forward to serving you again very soon. And reach out over on Instagram or on LinkedIn at Dr. Denise Simpson. I'm there to answer all of your questions. I'll see you very soon. Take good care.
