POWER VERSUS FORCE?
That’s the title of a book written 25 years ago by Dr. David Hawkins, a psychologist. And while he may not have had company CEOs and managers in mind when he sat down to write, Hawkins theorized that people perform at different heights of consciousness.
Hawkins equated the consciousness to energy levels which he said could be cognizant or unconscious. He went on to say that the sender is often unaware of people’s reactions to these energy levels. He even developed a logarithmic scale with a range from 1 to 1,000.
According to Hawkins, people measuring below 200 sent out energies on such traits like guilt, anger, desire, pride, shame and apathy. He suggested that higher levels showed acceptance, love, reason and courage.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
What Hawkins also suggested in his book is that leaders who are inspirational score near 600 and “set an example for the rest of society, and in their respective fields, create new paradigms with far-reaching implications for all of (humanity).” He characterized these leaders as being able to lead with vision while being aware of their shortcomings, especially in those areas needing development.
Hawkins generated a bit of controversy when he went on to suggest that where individual land on what he called his Map of Consciousness could predict whether someone could succeed in and make an impact within an organization. What did generate more consensus were his maps of four areas: 1. leadership mindset, 2. how one develops others, 3. how one communicates, and 4. how one shapes and nurtures the organization’s culture.
LEADERSHIP MINDSET
In discussing the leadership mindset, Hawkins described two belief systems, guiding and limiting. In short, guiding is sharing a positive attitude. Limiting, on the other hand, is just the opposite and Hawkins argued that both belief systems send different messages to a leader’s team and set the tone for their performance as well as expectations.
DEVELOPING OTHERS
According to Hawkins, developing future leaders is one of a leader’s main responsibilities. In addition to recommending that a company invest in programs fostering the advancement of future leaders, Hawkins also challenged organizations to invest in areas that develop consciousness, particularly those resulting in deep self-analysis.
COMMUNICATIONS
One study reported that emails have been growing at a rate of 3% annually and that business users today average more than 125 emails daily. Because of this growth and reliance on social media, emails, etc., a question has also been raised about where one would place most responses based on those traits on Hawkins’ map.
CULTURE
An organization’s culture shapes its direction, energy, and success. As mentioned earlier, a guiding belief system is one of positivity. It fosters honesty, collaboration, approval, compassion and teamwork.
Conversely, a limiting belief system can corrode the value of a common atmosphere. Leaders need to ask themselves what is acceptable behavior in treating one another? How will lethal elements in the workplace environment be handled?
Today’s trying times create large but not insurmountable challenges. The country is split politically and demographically.
A leader who not only recognizes that but encourages and fosters a guiding belief system will discover a workforce that may not always agree with the company’s direction but respect its decision. For even those dissenters will know that they, too, have been heard and respected.
