A rare breed of leader is required when environments are permeated with distrust, tension and volatility. The good news is that many emerging and experienced leaders have the ability to meet the demands; it’s a choice to look inward with courage to heal past traumas, embrace vulnerability as a source of strength, lead with genuine compassion for all stakeholders, and light the way toward a better future. This “high-conscious” approach to leadership is not a nice to have, but an imperative for any organization that hopes to thrive while being a force for good.
If Not Now, Then When?
When it comes to leadership, I write in my book “Heal To Lead,” “we continue to see how some resist the notion that they need to evolve beyond the ego, invite others to the table, and ensure ecological restoration.” Shortsighted decision-making, an empathy deficit, and an obsession with the bottom line has resulted in widespread burnout, a mental health epidemic, skyrocketing health care costs, a climate crisis and further separation from each other’s humanity.
According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, fear is on the rise and trust is at an all-time low. Globally, most people believe that the government is unable to regulate emerging technology effectively because its leaders lack adequate understanding. Similarly, most are concerned that science is far too influenced by politics and the organizations that fund research.
Overall, the business sector is the most trusted to integrate innovation into society; therefore, business leaders have a responsibility to all stakeholders — consumers, employees, shareholders and the environment. In fact, 62% of people surveyed said they “expect CEOs to manage changes occurring in society, not just those occurring in their business.”
What Is High-Conscious Leadership?
You have likely heard of conscious leadership — a methodology birthed from the conscious capitalism movement, both terms coined by former Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey and his counterpart, Raj Sisodia, a marketing professor and prolific author on the subject. The broad idea behind these is that business should not exist solely to make money. It should improve the lives of its people, act as a generative (not extractive) force on behalf of the planet, and satisfy shareholders through long-term, sustainable profit margins.
Diana Chapman, Jim Dethmer and Kaley Klemp popularized conscious leadership in their book as 15 specific commitments offered as opposing choices for leaders: simply, “by me” or “to me.” In other words, leaders can opt to take radical responsibility for themselves, or they can remain inflexible and live and lead through a lens of victimization.
Building on this decade-old conversation, high-conscious leadership posits that self-awareness is developed through the healing and integration of one’s past trauma — what some have called self-mastery or discovering your inner self as it relates to conscious leadership. Especially today, it’s important to name trauma’s impact in our leadership style and capacity. After all, how can we lead others if we cannot lead ourselves?
4 Fundamentals of High-Conscious Leadership
From my book “Heal to Lead,” the four interconnected fundamentals of high-conscious leadership include:
- Integrating Trauma: Beginning with introspection, it takes courage to challenge your own ego, work on your emotional past, correlate and actively change the ways you show up as a leader.
- Embodying Vulnerability: It takes courage to lean into the discomfort of being true to yourself above all else, which requires a different kind of strength than the one we’ve all been taught to associate with leadership.
- Leading with Compassion: Beyond feeling with those under our stewardship, compassion’s action orientation compels leaders to support all stakeholders in meaningful ways that support the lives of others, the organization, and the self. So, self-compassion plays an important role as well.
- Lighting the Way: To build on all three preceding fundamentals, “you have the ability and capacity to redirect your own life, to leverage your power on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves, and to blow the doors off systems that never served us all.”
These four fundamentals represent a holistic blueprint for leaders to elevate their self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and positive impact. By doing the inner work, leaders create ripples that transform organizations, communities, and the world at large. It’s a tall order, but what is the impact of not pursuing it with urgency and conviction?
In a world plagued by fear, mistrust, burnout and ecological disaster, high-conscious leadership is the salve we so desperately need. By reconciling our past wounds, showing up authentically, and acting with consideration for all, leaders can chart a new course toward a healthier, more sustainable and deeply human way of working. The path is not easy, but the potential rewards — for ourselves, our organizations and the planet — make the journey invaluable. Now is the time to heal in order to truly lead.
