Which Leadership's Key Factor is Unintentionally Forgotten?

Gallup’s data in 2020¹ depicted a troubling reality of employees’ dissatisfaction. Approximately 85% of employees worldwide are still not engaged or are actively disengaged at work despite more effort from companies. Sadly, not many leaders are attentively concerned about this subject.

It is no longer sufficient for leaders to just lead people by paying them well and expecting consistent peak performances.

Disengaged employees aren't just unhappy with their work. As their needs are not being met, they can display negative behaviours like lower productivity and resentment. These employees in turn can potentially undermine what their engaged counterparts accomplish.

Read more: Fatigue, Exhaustion, Disengagement in A World of Working From Anywhere

Many leaders report that their works turn them upside down, makes them feel overloaded and overworked, and leaves them insomnia at night. As a result, they are unable to manage their emotions and control what they are going to say.

Some employees are highly susceptible to such stressful situations. They let the stress take control over themselves and negatively impact their performance and motivation.

Read more: Why Your Employees Are Leaving You (Besides Salary)

Search inside yourself

In a Talks at Google workshop back in 2012², Chade-Meng Tan, a Google engineer and personal growth pioneer introduced the concept of Search Inside Yourself, which happens to be a popular course at Google. 

Search Inside Yourself is a collaborative idea brought to life by Meng and a Zen master, a CEO, a Stanford University scientist, and Daniel Goleman. The program is grounded in science, aiming at:

• Increasing emotional intelligence
• Calming the mind on demand
• Deepening our self-awareness to foster self-confidence
• Harnessing empathy and compassion
• Building highly productive collaborations based on trust and transparent communications

In other words, Search Inside Yourself shows you how to find your "inner peace" while succeeding at your work.

“If we can control our emotions, we will be successful... There is good news that emotional intelligence is trainable,” stated Meng.

Read more: Emotional Intelligence for Leaders

Developed based on the latest neuroscience studies and with easy-to-follow principles revolving around three core factors, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and neuroscience, the program has recorded significant results. 91% of participants find a positive change in themselves after studying.

Search Inside Yourself is also taught at the world’s leading organisations, such as Google, Samsung, Apple, P&G, McKinsey, LG, and eBay. They all came to the same conclusion that mindful leadership programs helped their leaders excel and their teams thrive.

Read more: The Often Overlooked Aspect of Digital Transformation Culture Changes

Daily habits can make or break your leadership

Have you ever tried to google 'What habits lead to success?' or enthusiastic read articles titled 'X secrets of successful people'? Don’t we all want to know what makes great leaders outstanding, entrepreneurs confident, or executive coaches inspiring?

Smoking, hitting the snooze buttons, slouching, and not exercising are also habits, but they are on the other end of the spectrum. What makes them a habit is that they are a part of who we are and how we behave.

Whether to make a daily habit a good one or not, is your choice.

Our Founder and CEO, Rick Yvanovich, admitted in his latest book 'Habits of Success: What top entrepreneurs routinely do in business and in life': "You can't stop a harmful habit. It's nearly impossible". Indeed, he must have tried 1,000 times before he succeeded in quitting smoking cold turkey.

But Rick did succeed. Rick's journey begins with a spark and a catalyst, which then turns into changes in habits and an endless number of lessons.

Upgrading your leadership skills starts with changing your habits, which is a huge commitment and a long winding road.