First Version FIRST CORE LEADERSHIP FACTOR AWARENESS Being Aware. Being Mindful Self-Discovery. Self-Awareness. Being Present in the Moment.

Being Aware The way leaders show up in life appears to be different than how others show up. First, leaders show up. If as Woody Allen said, “showing up is 80 percent of life,” then if nothing else, leaders can be counted on to show up. But a leader does more than that. Leaders make a difference. Whether they are speaking, listening, or taking some action, leaders contribute. Ever notice the person who asks the question that inspires a new idea; or the person whose careful listening creates a new insight; or the person whose request forwards action, or whose idea motivates much-needed momentum from a stagnate team? How do leaders do this? Before doing anything, leaders are being something very important. They are being aware. Before speaking or taking any action, leaders pay attention. They pay close attention to details, to people, to events, to situations and circumstances in ways that elude others. First Version

When leaders show up, they are clear to be present in the moment with their full attention on this moment. Being aware in this way involves several considerations. First, leaders are aware of, and present to, their surroundings. Second, leaders are self-aware, noticing what drives them, and what throws them off. Third, leaders are master learners; they are willing to discover new ways to perceive issues and situations. Usually, they are the first ones to “think out of the box.” As master learners, leaders bring self-discovery to all aspects of their lives, and to each issue or situation they are dealing with. Finally, the very best leaders are those who are mindful in their everyday lives, which provides them access to information that seems to elude others. Being Aware First Version

Being mindful is a way of living life, present in the moment, aware of who we are, our impact on others, and how others impact us. In this course we will explore several factors that will sharpen your own level of awareness to fulfill our promise to have you being a leader and exercising leadership as your natural self-expression. To that end, we will also explore specific constraints that take us out of the game. These constraints are important as they tend to be hidden from our view. Through a set of practices you will discover these constraints for yourself – perhaps for the first time. This course will increase your level of self- awareness, providing greater access to being a leader and exercising leadership as your natural self-expression. Being Mindful First Version

Being mindful means “paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, without judgment,” according to John Kabat-Zinn the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. We will begin tonight with an exploration of being present in the moment. Left to itself the mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts — including thoughts expressing anger, longing, upset, depression, revenge, self-pity, etc. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts, we reinforce those emotions and cause ourselves to suffer. Indeed, consider this very moment, right now, as we are reading this slide together. Where is your mind right now? What are you saying to yourself right now at this very moment? Being Mindful First Version

Mostly these thoughts are about the past or future. Yet the one moment we actually can experience — the present moment — is the one we seem most to avoid. Consider the many times you may have eaten food without tasting it; listened to a song without hearing it, or viewed something without seeing it. Unfortunately, this has become an all-too-familiar part of our everyday lives and experiences. So in being mindful we’re concerned with being present in the moment, noticing what’s going on right now. That doesn’t mean we can no longer think about the past or future, but when we do so, we do so mindfully, present and aware that right now we’re thinking about the past or future. So then … what get’s in the way of us being in the present moment? What is the first thing to be aware of? Being Mindful First Version

Being Mindful Recall that being mindful means “paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the moment, without judgment.” Bringing mindfulness to our listening of our already-always listening, and identifying our listening filters, helps us to bring our awareness to the present moment. Being aware also helps us notice any judgment, or how we assign meaning to any situation, which finds us quickly climbing the Ladder of Inference. Being mindful of our judgment, reveals how our listening can shape our perceptions, choices and actions. These perceptual constraints take us out of the game. Bringing mindfulness to our listening filters can keep us present to that which takes us out of the moment, and to that which keeps us from being on the court in our lives. So in being mindful we’re concerned with being present in the moment, and noticing any judgment. Now we will explore mindfulness as bringing purpose to the moment. 7 First Version 2014

Being Mindful – Attention Spans First, let’s explore the state of our attention, today. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the average attention span of a human being has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in This is one second less than the attention span of a goldfish. That’s right, goldfish have an attention span of 9 seconds – 1 second more than you and I. According to the source, this is due to “external stimulation” like all of the content marketing we’re producing and distributing across all the social media channels. The research states: “Attention span is the amount of concentrated time on a task without becoming distracted. Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one’s goals. It’s no surprise attention spans have been decreasing over the past decade with the increase in external stimulation.” 8 First Version 2014

Mindfulness - Paying attention ‘On Purpose’ So, mindfulness involves paying attention “on purpose.” Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness. We sometimes talk about “mindfulness” and “awareness” as if they were interchangeable terms, but that’s not a good habit to get into. I may be aware I’m irritable, but that wouldn’t mean I was being mindful of my irritability. In order to be mindful I have to be purposefully aware of myself, not just vaguely and habitually aware. Knowing that you are eating is not the same as eating mindfully. Let’s take that example of eating and look at it a bit further. When we are purposefully aware of eating, we are consciously being aware of the process of eating. We’re deliberately noticing the sensations and our responses to those sensations. We’re noticing the mind wandering, and when it does wander we purposefully bring our attention back. 9 First Version 2014

Mindfulness - Paying attention ‘On Purpose’ When we’re eating unmindfully we may in theory be aware of what we’re doing, but we’re probably thinking about a hundred and one other things at the same time, and we may also be watching TV, talking, or reading — or even all three! So a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, and we may be only barely aware of the physical sensations and even less aware of our thoughts and emotions. Because we’re only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander in an unrestricted way. There’s no conscious attempt to bring our attention back to our eating. There’s no purposefulness or intention. This intention (what we intend) is a very important part of mindfulness. Having the purpose and managing the intention of staying with our direct experience, whether that’s the breath, or a particular emotion, or something as simple as eating, will find us actively shaping and cultivating our mind. 10 First Version 2014

Mindfulness - Paying attention ‘On Purpose’ Acting with purpose also reveals and points to who we are being, and reveals our intentions. Consider that in many situations the person we show up as may be someone who we do not “know” ourselves to be, or finding ourselves not doing what we intended. We may be unaware of this phenomenon finding, us managing two or more selves, or finding our intentions at cross purposes. How can we express our self if the self we express is not the self we know our self to be? What would it be like to express myself in language, and hear myself as the person I know myself to be? This speaking is beyond the words we use, or how we speak. This speaking is the result of being clear with an intention – or speaking with purpose when I am in conversation, answering s or collaborating. This kind of speaking requires we pay attention both to content and to context (intent, purpose, and situation). 11 First Version 2014