Hi, leader. Welcome back. So happy you are here for another podcast episode of the Dr. Denise Simpson podcast. I'm Denise Simpson. So happy that you are here. If we're new, welcome to the world of contemplative leadership. It's a very unique approach where we contemplate, we reflect before we take massive action. Now, listen, a lot of us are in high-pressure roles. right? We're leading our nonprofits. We're leading our for-profits. We are founders. We are CEOs. We are VPs. We are mid-level managers. We're directors, supervisors, first-time managers. And there's a lot of pressure around our roles. There's so many of us who are focused on the facts of our roles, right? The facts of leadership. This is the objective knowing, right? This is the empirical research. Here are the strategies. Here is what has shown if you apply this very specific strategy in your workplace. And here's how, you know, you can, you can, the implication is you're going to be able to impact your staff if you do this. Those are facts. And a lot of us leaders out here, because of our high pressure, highly demanding roles, we are so heavy on the facts. And I'm here to tell you that that's not all you need. Facts alone will not save your leadership. There's actually something else that I'd like for you to consider. Ooh, what could that be? If facts is everything, Denise, what do you mean? Aren't you a researcher? Don't you provide facts? Don't you provide empirical research in this industry? And now you're telling me that that alone is not going to save leadership? I'm telling you there's something else that we want to consider as well. And it's not this or that. No, it is this and that. And what is that? I'm talking about the truth. Because we have facts, no doubt. We are measured by the impact of these facts, right? This is what KPIs are, key performance indicators. Here's why we have strategic plans, because we need to fulfill these strategies, because we think if we do these strategies, we're going to meet these measurements. And oh, by the way, we're measured by this. So those are facts. right? Those are facts. I deal in facts. By the way, I work with so many organizations that come to me because they go, well, you're full of facts. You're the walking embodiment of empirical research. Don't you have a PhD in leadership studies? I'm going to hire you because you have all the facts. And I say, okay, I got the facts, but now show me the leader that I'm going to help because it's in the truth of that leader that I need to learn more about. So you got facts and then you have truth. And it's not facts or truth. No, it is facts and the truth. Now, if you're rolling your eyes at me, I get it. I was rolling my eyes at myself for many, many years because this is the field. This is the path that I have followed. Objective knowing. Okay. Listen, I have shelves over here with books by biologists, chemists, physicians, organizational psychologists. All of the medical science experts are on my shelves over here. I've got like a thousand books over here from authors, from expert authors who are so focused on statistics and so focused on facts. but they're missing the other half of the coin here, right? There's two sides to the coin, two sides to the same coin. So yeah, give me those facts. But now the way I interpret these facts are going to be very different than the way Sheila interprets these facts, the way Thomas interprets these facts. the way Maria interprets these facts. That's the truth, individual truth. That's the subjective knowing versus the objective knowing. I mean, we still need science, verifiable, measurable facts, right? And these facts are so important, right? I mean, listen, I am a researcher, so I know about facts. And I know how important it is for leaders out here. But I just want to bring you a different perspective from a contemplative leader. And that is, yeah, I'm going to take those facts. Cool. Thank you. And by the way, those facts are all neutral. They're neutral. They're not good or bad or indifferent. They're just there. They're neutral facts. And then you've got how I interpret these facts. So then it makes it subjective. So I take something that's objective because my truth is so important because no one's lived in my shoes. No one has the same values as I do. And if we do share the same values, best believe I'm not thinking of them like you are. I have different belief systems. I have different limiting belief systems. I have so much bias around certain groups here because that's just what I've been programmed. right? So like you're, you're different. Your vessel is different. So the, your truth is going to be so different than my truth, but the facts are the facts and they're neutral. But you're not. I'm not. I am subjective. That's what makes me the leader. Oh, I'm not a robot. I'm not AI. Oh, how exciting that I actually get to think for myself. So I get to take these facts and I get to interpret them and I get to make them mean something that's very personal for me. That's the beauty of contemplation. That's really, really the crux of what we do as contemplative leaders. It's like, hold on. I'm not going to just take this at face value. And cool. These are facts. Surface. That's the surface. And they're neutral. Cool. But I'm going to take this ten layers deeper. I'm going to take these facts and I'm going to take them ten layers deeper so that I can find what's true for me. right? So here's a fact. Employee engagement will raise by twenty three percent if the leader demonstrates behavior that represents psychological safety. That's a fact. OK, cool. Thanks for the research, Denise. Glad you pulled all that data together for me. So now what's my truth? So I get to see that those facts. I get to see that one fact. I go, what does that mean for me then? Oh, contemplation looks like, well, you know, Denise, I'm I actually am concerned about this because I, the leader, don't feel psychologically safe in my role, actually. Nobody looks like me. No one sounds like me. No one talks like me. I'm the double only here. I'm the only woman and the only Mexican here in this group. That's what a double only looks like, right? And so actually, I'm suffering from that myself. So how am I going to Provide psychological safety for my team of ten. Oh, my goodness. Contemplation. So that's where we take a fact and then we contemplate that. And guess what? It's not like a ten-day quiet retreat, right? No, it's like, huh, okay, so that's a fact, but now how is that true for me? That's the question. How can that be true for me? And then you get a little deeper into how and what that fact means to you and to your leadership. So that's just a very basic level example, right? I love to always use the analogy of the anchor, right? Contemplatives like you and I, we're anchors. So here's the sea. Ooh, it's raging, my friend. It is raging. You are the captain of that boat, and you have a team of ten. You've got ten sailors on there, but you're the captain. And the sea, that's beyond your control. Those are elements, variables beyond your control. The sea could look like organizational culture. Board of directors may be putting in policies that go against what your personal beliefs are. That's the sea. That's the context that you're in. That's the environment that you're leading in. There are things that are beyond your control. Ninety nine point nine percent of them are. I mean, really, one hundred percent are beyond your control. You have not you have no control of anything outside of your brain and your body. So the sea can also look like the current administration, right? Social, economical, right? Everything that's happening out in our country, in the world even, right? Those are the seas. They're raging. They're violent seas right now. Sometimes it's peaceful. Sometimes it's quiet. And sometimes don't even think about it. Like you just need to navigate, right? That's what we leaders do. We navigate in these seas of uncontrollable circumstances. This is what we do every single day. We are navigating the boat so that we don't drown our people and then we don't go into a cliff and crash us into a cliff, right? That's what we do as contemplative leaders. We're navigating the seas. But that's an important distinction, right? Contemplatives know I'm in a sea that's beyond my control. But my responsibilities, my sacred responsibility is to navigate this boat and to keep the people on this boat safe during these very turbulent, uncertain times. But here's what we do. We take it a step further. Like, okay, we're on this boat. We're navigating what has been given to us. We're navigating this climate. And there are measurements that I have to consider, right? We are measured by our successes and our failures. And yeah, I mean, there's, you know, people leaving the boat, people, you know, turning in their resignation. I'm firing some people, right? These are facts, right? There are some people that, you know, shouldn't be here. Some of us are, you know, making our deadlines, meeting deadlines, meeting our KPIs while I have some others on the boat that aren't doing that. So these are the facts, right? They're indisputable. They're facts. Then the contemplative goes, okay, so I'm navigating in this raging sea that's beyond my control and I'm in the boat and here are the facts that are in this boat. Okay. What we get to do as contemplatives, here comes that anchor analogy, my friend. Oh my goodness. I don't know about you, but when I envision When I reflect on that raging sea on the surface that's beyond my control, that I'm in the boat with my people, and we are experiencing these circumstances, and I'm navigating this all with the help of my people, of course. But here's what we've produced. Here's what we haven't produced. Here are the facts. Here's what's happening on the boat. But the contemplative goes, well, hold on. Let me take this one step further. Okay, so here are the facts. in this very specific climate. Now I am going to take these facts and what we're experiencing here on these raging seas. And I'm going to go down below to the seabed. I'm going to drop down, down below the, all the way to the ocean floor. because i need time to reflect now for those of you who are saying are you kidding denise or fires i have to put out oh my gosh i'm bleeding with my hair on fire and there's no time to reflect but my friend you can't afford not to do this because down below when we get to quiet our mind, when we get to sit in stillness because we're the anchor, we're embedded, we're now at the bottom of the ocean floor, my friend, we are rock steady. We're rock steady. Never mind those raging seas that we have no control over. Never mind those statistics, those facts, that objective knowing that's in the boat. No, I'm going to drop down below because down below is where I get to find myself again. Because I have forgotten who I am. Here's the truth. I don't know who I am anymore because I am so ruled by the pressure of this job and these statistics. And I don't know any other way but to rule with statistics. But here's the other way, leader. is to drop into this subjective knowing. It's a calling. It's a reminder of why you entered the pipeline of leadership to begin with. This ain't kumbaya, by the way. We don't do that around here. We're very big action takers, we contemplatives. But we add another element to leadership, and the element is contemplation. It could look like stillness. It could look like taking a moment to close your office door and say, okay, thank you for these facts. I appreciate it, team. I'm still navigating the ship, of course, with your help. But here are the circumstances that we're facing and we're navigating this together. And here's what we created. Here are the results, indisputable facts, okay? But now I need a quick moment, okay? A quick moment. I'm going to take a quick coffee break, my friends. I'm going to take a quick coffee break and I'll be right back. Yes, your employees are your friends, by the way, okay? I mean, we're not going out for drinks or anything, but they're in the boat with you trying not to, you know, run into a cliff. And they're trying not to drown either. And so you best look at them as something more than, you know, more than an employee. No, they're humans with divine assignments in them. So how about we befriend these employees instead of treating them like lifeless, soulless people? That would make them AI and they're not. So the contemplative says, I need to take a moment. Give me just a moment. By the way, my team knows when I say I'm going to sleep on it. Doesn't mean I'm going to like after the meeting, go take a nap and sleep on it. No, no. I'm like, I need twenty four hours because what you're telling me right now is a little disturbing. I'm not happy with these facts. And by the way, I'm an emotional leader. Yep. Guess what? So are you? Yeah, we all are. So if you think you're not, neuroscience says otherwise. We are leading with our emotions first. And then a quick millisecond after that is logic. So just know that emotion will always lead your decisions as a leader. Can't dispute that. Those are the facts. So for me, it looks like taking a beat, taking a moment and go, okay, this is what we're navigating through. Thank you team. And here are the results we created and I'm not happy with them and I'm human. So I'm feeling some things right now and I just, yeah, I'm going to sleep on this. And my team knows right away. the contemplation in action. Here is contemplation in action. She practices what she preaches. She is taking a moment to drop down below the ocean, right? Forget these surface level raging seas. I'm going to drop down below where it is still, where I can hear myself think, where I can put those stats, the facts aside. And then I can remember I'm a human leading and And that I was divinely called to do this role. And so now I'm going to take this very seriously because it is my sacred responsibility to take a moment to consider what to do next. That's all I'm asking us to do is to take facts and the leader's truth. What is your truth about these facts? And where we get to practice contemplation is by removing ourselves from the boat and dropping down below intentionally, down below, down to the bottom of the ocean floor where it is peaceful, where it is quiet, where those raging seas have nothing to do with what's down below. It anchors your nervous system. It anchors a deeper knowing of who you are and what you were called to do in this lifetime. I mean, if you're questioning your purpose right now in leadership, this is the solution. So it is objective knowing with the facts, the empirical research. My goodness. Thank goodness. Thank goodness for researchers out here doing the dang thing, providing us with all this very rich data. But now, leader, where are you? Where are you? I can't find you anymore. Oh, you're over here in the truth. This is the embodied experience, the embodied living experience of the leader. Take those facts. And then now you ask yourself, how is that true for me? What does this mean? What do I make these facts mean? This is the truth. Facts and truth. Facts alone will not save your leadership. I am proposing as a contemplative leader to now consider using facts and your truth to integrate who you are. Listen, I don't, I'm not dismissing facts. I will keep researching. I am a public academic for a reason. No, I'm not tied to a formal institution. I'm tied to my own institution that I created because I didn't want the shackles. I didn't want my hands tied. I didn't want to conduct research that they wanted me to conduct. No, I said, I'm going to do my thing because I'm in the caves. I'm in the tunnels with my people. I am molding the clay with my staff. I'm here on the ground marching with my people. I know about unfairness because I've lived through it. I know about injustice because I have lived through it. And now I'm here as a public academic so I can share this information. So I'm able to share my research, my empirical studies, everything that I've done over here. I want to share it with you. So when organizations call me up and say, can we hire you? Because you obviously know all this empirical research. But then I have to go, okay, you're hiring me. for the surface level leading, the leadership that looks like facts. It looks like empirical research. It looks like objective knowing. Okay. But do you realize that there's a whole other part to leadership that is so important? It's not just the facts. Show me who I'm going to help with these facts because that's more important for me. Anyone can pick up a peer reviewed journal. Anyone can pick up crap on the internet and we can all pick up all the science and all the stats. I've contributed to that body of work. You can do that. But what's more important for me as someone who's been in this field for almost thirty years, almost thirty years. Listen, my friends, I have been doing this a long time. And I would sell to corporate buyers with this idea of empirical research and all the body of research I have for you. Look, you should hire me because if you do, we implement these facts and here's the impact, here are the results that I can guarantee you. Oh boy, was I wrong. Boy, was I wrong. It wasn't until I started to work with CEO and founders. It wasn't until I started to really intimately become very familiar with these individuals' biases, their values, their judgment systems, their limiting beliefs. It wasn't until I got to know them on an individual level that I realized, oh, these facts mean nothing to them. Whoa, so how do, because I'm getting paid for these results. Yikes, how do I get them to take these facts and make it mean something for them individually? Because leadership is not blanket leadership. We cannot keep doing that to ourselves. No, this is why facts and truth, the leader's truth, the individual truth is going to be important in implementing these facts. See how important these two elements are? So, contemplatives are very interested in both these aspects. Do not neglect the statistics. Do not neglect the facts, the empirical research. It's important, very important. You take that information and then you, you, individual, you, who's not like me, and I am not like you, And you are not like her or them or they or he. You're not like anyone else. So those facts are going to mean something different to you more than likely. Listen, you're one of one. You're a category of one, my friend. You're not like your peers. You're not like anybody else on the planet, period, right? So of course, you're not going to think like me, and I'm not going to think like you. But here's one way you can take facts, and then you can make it your own, and you can make it mean something important. You can put meaning to it, and then go and implement it. But do not miss out on the contemplation part. That's where we start investigating what is true for us. That's the subjective knowing versus the objective knowing. Objective is the evidence-based empirically researched information that we need as leaders. That's the objective knowing, the subjective knowing. It's the embodied life experience of who you are. Talk about authentic leadership. Ooh, somebody missed that. Bill George, where are you, author of Authentic Leadership? That's what he's talking about. That's that leadership style. Authentic leadership is a leadership style. that Bill George has done such an incredible job on with empirical research and the body of work that he's created around this leadership style. Well, guess what? We contemplatives, because we don't lead like anybody else, that's just naturally, it's a natural way of leading for us in our most authentic selves because we take those facts and we make it mean something to us individually. That is authentic leadership. Wow. Listen, I love this approach because we take all these leadership styles that these incredible authors and researchers have done. I mean, listen, that's what I've studied, the historical record of leadership. That's my thing. And now we take all those incredible styles studies and all those incredible strategies and all those incredible styles. And we just move it forward into a contemplative way of leading. That's all I'm doing is just asking you to take the body of work, the facts, the empirical research, and then make it mean something for you. Because when you make it mean something for you, Then you get to go apply this information. Then you get to go and create impact because of how you decided to lead. Like this is what makes you the authentic leader that you are. You're like, yeah, I took a fact. I took a statistic and I took it ten layers deeper. And guess what? Some of my colleagues aren't doing that. They're not taking that moment. And I'm not talking about a full twenty four hours like Denise has to take. But like I just took thirty minutes. To just really think about what the statistic means to me and how can I embed that, embody that, imbue that, and how can I make it mean something for me and my team? That's what contemplative leaders do. Facts and truth. All right, leader. I hope you found today's episode helpful. Listen, I get really, really passionate about this conversation. When I talk to a contemplative, I know who you are. Oh my goodness. About half of my clients are contemplatives. These are people who take, um, They take surface level conversation. They take that and they drop into it. Like they take it down ten layers deep. And I know you're a contemplative because you're tired of the surface level conversation. You're tired of the surface level leadership. You want meaning to what you do. There's a lot of leaders out here who are leading from facts. Only. And you see them on the news and you know who they are. They're probably in your organization right now. They're probably leading your community right now. You may have voted them in. Listen, I'm not here to judge you. I will never undermine your brilliance ever. Contemplatives do not do that to one another. I will never do that. But I want for you to start seeing for yourself how facts alone will not save your leadership. And if you are wanting deeper meaning, deeper purpose in how you're leading, then it's just taking those facts and taking a moment and making it mean something for you. Leader, if you want to go deeper with me, I am... Uh inviting you into a very sacred space. It's called the sanctuary for contemplative leaders. It is free It's away from facebook. It's away from linkedin. It's away from all the social platforms sorry if i'm being tagged right now because Wherever i'm streaming this people are upset that I said what I said But listen you get to drop down to the bottom of the ocean floor with me You get to anchor your leadership Anchor it into spiritual principles, right, that we get to talk about in a private setting. So don't worry about algorithms. Don't worry about doom scrolling. You're in a sacred, sacred space called the sanctuary for contemplative leaders. It's free. It's free. So join me in there. Explore. I do lives. I'll do some individual coaching so that you all could see what this looks like in real life, in real time. Because I know this is a new approach, a new way of looking at leadership for a lot of us. And this is the place where we're going to be honest with each other, have courage. We're going to... Practice contemplative leadership. I'll leave it at that. So you're going to want to join me. Check wherever you're watching this in the description, in the captions, in the show notes, wherever you're watching this or listening to this, you will find a link to join me or just go to my website at drdeniessimpson.com. drdeniessimpson.com and go to my homepage or the tabs and you'll see the sanctuary is ready for you. All right, leader. Thank you so much for your time today. Cannot wait to serve you inside the sanctuary. I'll see you over there. Take care.
