The first and foremost job of a leader
“Your first and foremost job as a leader is to take charge of your own energy, and then help to orchestrate the energy of those around you.”
Peter F. Drucker
I find Peter Drucker’s observation to be at the core of becoming a more effective conscious leader.
It invites learning and growing as conductors, taking charge of ourselves and orchestrating with those around us.
It challenges us to become self-generative, distilling what we care about, what we want to create, and who we want to become.
It provokes inquiry. How do we take charge of our own energy, and then help to orchestrate the energy of those around us?
It requires clarifying our current state and desired future state and understanding the context of the people and world around us.
By simply observing ourselves, we open space to consider our choices and consciously choose our response.
Check-in on your state by asking:
- Am I more calm or tense?
- Am I more energized or tired?
- Am I more open and curious, or anxious, fearful, closed or shutting down?
I encourage you to experiment for yourself. Take a few minutes to ask the questions above now, and then reflect:
- How is your energetic state affecting you now?
- How is your energetic state influencing the energy of those around you?
- What do you care about creating?
- What possibilities exist to take charge of your own energy?
- What next step will best serve you and those you lead now?
By regularly observing and shifting our energetic state we start to live and lead more consciously.
I work with executives and leadership teams to take charge of their own energy and to orchestrate the energy of the teams and organization around them. Together we build trust, cultivate generative leadership, and grow organizational effectiveness to create a better future today.