Week 23.05 Seeing The Divine

Before I begin, let me qualify the use of the word “divine". For those of you with a more secular bent, I am thinking about the divine as a universal life force, the eternal uniqueness that makes each of us ourselves, not by what we do, but rather who we are. It is the quality that my friend Nilofer Merchant calls Onlyness. For those of you with a more spiritual bent, you may infer something more spiritual in the word. Regardless, I have recently been thinking about and experiencing the world through the lens of the divine, and how it has a very profound way of changing our relationships and outcomes. I have been thinking about three ways seeing the divine can be considered: seeing the divine in ourselves, seeing the divine in others, and having the divine in us be seen by others. I wanted to share my thinking - a work in progress - with you and seek your thoughts and comments. 

Today was the first day of taking Srikumar Rao's famous Creativity and Personal Mastery (CPM) course. Each of us presented our personal history, which we did in the usual way, a combination of a timeline of events and calling out those experiences that have left a lasting imprint, things that we have or are struggling with, and perhaps a few accomplishments. In the coming weeks, we will address mental chatter issues - the negative or distracting thoughts that keep us from staying focused. In listening to each story, I was fascinated by the breadth of experience and life represented by these fantastic people. And I was also taken by how infrequently people highlighted what made them remarkable, what got them excited each day, what they did that was unique. And I wondered, why don't we start by seeing the divine in ourselves and sharing it with others? Is it because we don't see it, are we unwilling to admit it, or are we too humble to share?

I know many of the people in our CPM course, and I am aware that each of them is, in their own way, divine. They have unique qualities in combinations I never see in another human being. They have a life experience, a way of processing the world, and the specific things they care about and make better. I am keenly aware that seeing the world through their eyes makes my world much richer. My worldview, as expansive as I might consider it, is a small fraction of the collective view of any group, each person experiencing life in their own way. With the perspective of seeing the divine in each person, I can dramatically expand my world by adding their world to mine. Our collective experience is much richer than our individual experiences, especially when we see them as a combined experience where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. 

And finally, I have recently noticed how I am changed when others see the divine in me. To be seen is not a passive task; it requires vulnerability on my part and an openness to being seen. It can feel fragile and exposed, which takes courage because being seen gives others the power to hurt or reject. But more often than not, I find that those who see me fully also accept me fully, and it is a beautiful liberation. When I mention being fully seen I am not referring to recognition, approval, awards, or accolades. I am talking about being seen for who I am, my inner qualities recognized in a way that feels acknowledged and appreciated. It is less about what I do and more about who I am, the way the divine in me brings joy and elevation to others. There is no right or wrong here; the specific point of view of each person who sees me makes being seen by them even more special. Having others see the divine in me is life-affirming, and it inspires me to dig deeper and reach higher.

In life and leadership, we elevate ourselves and those we lead and love when we see the divine in ourselves and each other. The divine isn't flawless; it's complete and accepting. I am still developing this idea, but I suspect that great leaders also have to see the divine in themselves because that is where authentic leadership comes from. My hypothesis is that when we recognize the divine in ourselves, we can better see the divine in others. And when we see the divine in others, we can share what we see and amplify them so they can be more fully and wholly themselves. And in so doing, we elevate ourselves and each other, which creates lasting growth for each of us individually, and for all of us collectively.

Thinkers50 Radar Congratulations to Fiona Macaulay

Working at the intersection of innovation, leadership and global development, Macaulay established herself as a thought leader on the topic of global youth employment as founder and CEO of social enterprise Making Cents International, and was instrumental in creating a movement for evidence-based scalable and sustainable interventions to increase youth employment, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion. More recently, Macaulay founded WILD, the Women Innovators and Leaders Development Network, to support women social innovators to scale their impact, and thrive personally. 

Adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where she also runs a leadership clinic for MBA students, Macaulay serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence to mentor and coach emerging social innovators, and leaders across campus. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown’s School for Foreign Service. Previously, Macaulay founded Making Cents International, which she led as CEO for nearly 20 years. She is also the founder and current CEO of WILD; is a member of the board of governors for Junior Achievement Worldwide; and past board chair for the CAMFED USA Foundation.  

Disabled People Are A Vital Part Of Your Workforce: Advice To Help You Manage by Liz Kislik

Are you missing the opportunity to attract or retain a highly motivated and qualified segment of the working population? Research shows that disabled people have higher levels of motivation, innovation, loyalty, problem-solving skills, and the ability to identify creative solutions. And it’s time to retire the outdated perception of disabled employees as needing wheelchairs or seeing-eye dogs. In too many workplaces today, disabled people feel forced to pretend they are not disabled even when they’re struggling. They fear they won’t be hired or will be treated differently by their supervisor or colleagues. Unfortunately, if concerns about adverse treatment cause them to hide or mask their disability, they may not be able to work up to potential. A better alternative is to create conditions of safety under which they can do their best—then both they and the organization will benefit. If people see that disabilities are understood and accepted as a normal part of your workplace culture, they’ll feel much more accepted. Although it can require time and effort to improve working conditions significantly for disabled people, taking even small actions today and using the resources that are already available in the marketplace can help your organization attract and retain a deeply committed staff.

Developing Emotional Intelligence As A Leader by David Burkus

We’ve known about the importance of developing emotional intelligence as a leader for some time now, but there are still some misconceptions about exactly what emotional intelligence is (or is not) and how to increase it. Emotional intelligence isn’t just about having “soft skills.” And it’s not a set of mindfulness practices.  Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and control your own emotions and recognize and empathize with the emotions of others. Leaders with high emotional intelligence find their teams have better discussions and make better decisions. Emotionally intelligent leaders give better feedback and are better able to communicate and be understood. Practice active listening that will grow your social skills. Then make your emotional intelligence development plan based on their feedback. As you do, you’ll find you’ve grown as a leader. And you’ll find your team has grown as well—into a team that can do its best work ever.

With love, gratitude and wonder. Scott