“We humans are blessed with consciousness – a power to create what we dare to dream about, to collaborate and intentionally set in motion the forces that will result in a different kind of future than the one for which we appear to be headed”

(Renesch, 2014, p. 137).

The perspective of being a conscious leader is continuously growing and evolving and researchers propose that “it is time to conceive alternate ways to view management and leadership standards” (Bolden et.al, 2003). In recognizing that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions for leadership, Bolden and colleagues suggest a need to teach leadership mindsets instead of traditional methods of individual leadership components. This is where Coach Aang’s perspective on Leadership is so valuable. Here, they will share with you their thoughts on a new approach to leadership and leadership theory that takes into account the research within and across disciplinary fields to bring you a holistic and transdisciplinary perspective.

“82 percent of Americans feel there would be less turmoil in the world if leaders were more conscious” (Rosen & Swann, 2018). Coach Aang’s perspective on leadership and leadership theory ties in the idea of conscious and committed leadership as both a mindset and a comprehensive perspective that requires daily intentional actions for sustainable change.

This conscious and committed theory of leadership proposes a holistic, transdisciplinary, and contextual perspective built on a foundation of consciousness that recognizes the complexities of leadership, the leader’s awareness of themselves and others, and their ability to integrate and adapt their behaviors for the various contextual factors in order to influence systemic change.

It pulls from various fields of research and emphasizes systemic insight, intentionality in thoughts and actions, the need for all human intelligences, the ability to competently apply their knowledge, and the refraction of their consciousness into their organizations and society at large.

 It uses main concepts from the most influential and innovative research in the field to date. The conscious and committed leadership perspective sees leaders as agents of change for creating world consciousness and aims to elevate the consciousness of society through conscious leaders and organizations making intentional decisions every day with systemic insight and disciplined social interactions.

Coach Aang’s definition of leadership is

“the ability to effectively integrate a transdisciplinary approach to mastering the self, mastering social dynamics, and mastering systems to positively influence change and increase the consciousness of all”.

This definition is inclusive of various disciplinary perspectives and topics such as individual characteristics, behaviors, mindsets, transactional relationships, change management, organization development, strategic planning, decision-making skills, and more, which is in alignment with the commitment of leadership scholars to “commit to integrating our research both within and across research paradigms” (Derue et al., 2011, p 38).

One of the primary areas of inclusion for this perspective is the research on conscious leadership thought to be first articulated by John Renesh in the early 1990s. Renesch (2014) believed that conscious leaders act with intentional behaviors and interactions with others, are cognizant of contextual factors, and understand the interconnectedness of our complex global systems. His work has been the inspiration for the inclusion of consciousness into a holistic and multidisciplinary perspective.

He shared that it is “through conscious leadership that we will be able to transcend traditional means of resolving conflict in our world” (Renesch 2010) and that “leaders of tomorrow must be willing to undergo deep personal, psychological, emotional, and even spiritual change if they expect their followers to be open to change. Leaders can no longer ask everyone to change except themselves” (Renesch, 1994, p. 3).

The Conscious and Committed Leadership Perspective                   

The theory of conscious and committed leadership is a holistic, transdisciplinary, conscious, and contextual perspective that increases a leader’s ability to positively influence individuals, communities, organizations, and systemic change. It has a global and systemic focus, emphasizes the human intelligences, and aims to elevate the consciousness of all with the intentional mastery of the core components of the self, social and contextual dynamics, and their understanding and application of a systems perspective to influence global consciousness.

These core components are described in detail in the proposed model below. This perspective also shares Haddock’s (2013) belief that leaders need to be inclusive, fluid, invitational, win/win, and of a both/and mentality. Jones and Brazdau (2015) suggest that “being conscious is one of the most authentic skills needed for accountable and responsible leadership practice” and Hayden (2011) argues that the business advantages of conscious leadership are better decision-making, flexibility, authenticity, a source of creation in which they create rather than react, acting for the whole with win-win outcomes, and continual evolution and competitive growth.

Conscious leadership is a “global theory of leadership” that can be encapsulated by the phrase “leadership by design”, requires three interrelated concepts of being “conscious about self”, “conscious of others”, and “conscious of their community” (Institute of Capacity Building, 2023).  HPI Solutions (2017) also writes that “conscious leaders have high levels of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Spiritual Intelligence (SQ), and Systems Intelligence (SYQ)” and that the inclusion of these intelligences are integral to the field of conscious leadership.   

This core foundation of consciousness elevates the need for leaders to master core competencies, traits, and behaviors, and the competency to be flexible and reflexive so that they can determine when and how to implement which style based on all the factors above, and to be intentional about approaching leadership from a holistic and transdisciplinary approach so that they can recognize the individuals, context and environmental components and then choose the most appropriate response.

This requires the leader to not only know, be, and do, but to do so from a systemic perspective and to master a core set of competencies so that they can flex in various areas, based on contextual and environmental information.

 It has a foundation of mindfulness and consciousness, authenticity, humility, interconnectedness/global values, systemic insight or collective awareness, an understanding of their own personal values, a general understanding of growth mindsets, authenticity, humility, nonviolent communication, and the adaptability of styles. As Ebner (2014) shares, leadership is a practice and you must start where you are.

Conscious and Committed Leadership Model Proposed

Components of Conscious and Committed Leadership

This leadership perspective has a global and systemic focus which includes both personal and personnel development through leadership consciousness and the intentional and competent application of human intelligences and social sciences that influence positive and systemic change in order to increase the consciousness of all.

 The foundation for this perspective is in the idea of consciousness, which the author defines as a universal oneness that the individual understands to be components of an awareness of oneself and others, the integration of habits and behaviors to influence the growth of all, and an ability to competently influence systemic change through the mastery of self, social, and system components.

It also pulls heavily from the research on innovation-inspired positive organization development (IPOD) that includes various fields of research to propose a strengths and ecological-based perspective that aims to “focus on designing positive institutions that refract and magnify our highest human strengths outward into society” (Cooperrider & Godwin, 2011).

The approach that Coach Aang proposes specifically requires understanding the social, cultural, psychological, and systemic concerns related to working with people from various disciplinary fields, such as leadership, organization development, management, social sciences, psychological sciences, and public health sciences while approaching the perspective with anti-oppressive, strengths-based and growth mindset lenses.

Coach Aang borrows from Potter’s (2011) conceptualization of leadership in action using an ecosystems perspective and will conceptualize the major influences of leadership theory over the years into the leadership aspects of self (leader-specific traits, characteristics, and behaviors), then the personal mastery of the social which includes relational aspects that are follower-specific, task and context-dependent, and then the mastery of the system which covers process and structure specific, evaluation, and the intentional interaction understanding the interconnected and integration of each of these areas.

These three levels of mastery cover the majority of the leadership research within the field since its inception and expand the context to include other disciplinary research to support a holistic understanding of leadership.

1) Mastery of Self

The mastery of self includes an understanding of Potter’s (2011) model which recognizes key areas that leaders must explore and understand when it comes to their identity, values, capability, state, behaviors, and environmental context of self.

Coach Aang proposes four key areas for mastery of these elements, (Presence, Mind and Emotions, Behaviors and Habits, and Community).

Coach Aang proposes that through the embodiment of these areas, leaders can master themselves in order to be able to then master their social interactions which will have an exponential impact on the consciousness and impact of society.

As with any area of mastery, this component requires continuous experimentation, evaluation, and growth to achieve results. For a leader to be considered conscious, they must understand and be able to apply social theory to their interpersonal dynamics with others. As the Institute of Capacity Building (2023) notes, conscious leaders need to be “sensitive to the needs of those around them and conscious of their impact on the wider world” and that “conscious leadership has strength in that it deals in context rather than content… it represents the capacity to step outside of oneself, observe, see oneself in context, and have the power to choose what one wants to be and do next” (Hayden, 2011, p 8).

Without insight into oneself, their mind and emotions, their behaviors and habits that impact others, and the broader community, leaders cannot hope to lead others. As famously stated by Renesch (2014), “The first place to work is indeed within – on your own tolerance, or lack of compassion. This inner work is the foundation for all that you have to contribute. It impacts the rest of us. Become clear on this and you will be able to work on things outside yourself”.

In order to master oneself, leaders must find their presence. Their level of body intelligence and ability to build and strengthen their neural pathways and mindset are foundational to their ability to master other areas. Learning how to be present with their feelings and emotions and being intentional in their thoughts and feelings will determine their ability to respond appropriately to others. Additionally, the leaders’ ability to master their minds and emotions requires an understanding of mindfulness, psychology, biology, and habitual practices needed to focus their thoughts, and actively choose to create and sustain their mindset.

This is emotional intelligence at its core and it is well researched in the field of leadership. Another area that leaders will have to competently apply for themselves before they can consider leading others is to master their own behaviors and habits. These behaviors and habits will define a leader’s identity and their ability to master their own behaviors is a prerequisite for trying to navigate the complexities of the social context that leaders must navigate.

This is the heart of Goleman’s distinction of social intelligence from emotional intelligence. Leaders must be able to not only know and understand themselves, but they must also be able to use that knowledge and skills in the context of their social interactions. Finally, building and maintaining a well-balanced personal community for continued growth and well-being is essential for any leader in today’s workforce. The personal mastery and embodiment of these areas are essential to the leaders’ own growth and development and that of the social interactions they have with others. This in essence is the heart of a leader’s ability to create exponential change and refract human strengths into society at all. 

2) Mastery of Social:

As Daniel Goleman explains in his understanding of social intelligence, the personal mastery of self can only get leaders so far. Leaders must go the extra level to master the social and environmental components that influence their team, organization, or societal context and therefore extend to the global context. Coach Aang refers to this as the mastery of social and defines it as building capability or competence in the practical application of interpersonal leadership insight and knowledge and includes the most relevant areas of leadership research.

The relevant areas of leadership research referred to in the phase of the mastery of social are Leader, Follower, Task, Context/environment, Process/structure, and Evaluation.

These are the most researched and well-established areas of leadership research and highlight the key areas that leaders need to understand in order to master the core competencies that will be referenced in the evaluation discussed. While rehashing the previous decade of leadership research is not the intent of this content area, the author recommends that leaders explore and learn to master this area through the use of working with a conscious coach and their continuous learning of various leadership perspectives that build on and enhance the core components of leadership theories.

This pillar leans heavily on personal development and interpersonal skills and also recognizes that leaders need to have specific skills and competence to effectively manage processes related to task accomplishment, strategic planning, decision-making, problem-solving, performance, intellect, budgeting, etc.  This social-process component of leadership requires leaders to know and understand their competence with various skill sets and even more importantly, their areas for improvement when it comes to areas in which they are not as strong as their circumstances may need.

3) Mastery of Systems:

“Part of this new consciousness involves the recognition that we are dealing with an incredibly complex global system where everything is connected to everything else, and where everyone is connected to everyone else” Renesch (2014, p.137). Ciglar & Omerzu (2018, p 79) share, “conscious leaders are natural systems thinkers. They can see the bigger picture and understand how the different components of the system interconnect and behave over time”.

Marincic and Maric (2018) share that “the role of the leader is to help and associate different thinkers and integrate them into a whole” and Hayden (2011, p.3) writes that a “conscious leader’s role is to optimize the health and value of this entire, complex interdependent system”.

While there are many important and relevant concepts of systems theory that are relevant to leadership and leadership theory, the most influential aspects that can guide leaders to adopt a more holistic, adaptable, and interconnected approach to their leadership practices to help them navigate complexities, inspire positive change, and foster a culture of consciousness, are Holism/Oneness, Interconnectedness, Adaptation and Change, Equifinality, Emergence, Feedback Loops.

 These aspects of systems theory in a leadership context can help leaders build psychological safety and trust, incorporate equity and inclusion into their teams, inspire creativity in all forms, act in responsible and sustainable ways, and ensure timely and relevant evaluations of their behaviors, decisions, and interactions that assist in creating accountability and sustainability.

Holism or Oneness is a core component of systems theory and in the context of leadership, recognizes that individuals and their interactions with each other, the organization, and societal aspects cannot be in isolation. These areas are all interdependent and interconnected and understanding this is a crucial component to successfully navigating leadership.

Interconnectedness, while a subcomponent of holism, is singled out here because of the recognition of the influence it has on every subcomponent of the system, as well are the influence on the larger system itself. In leadership terms, the individual’s relationship to themselves, their relationship to others, and their influence on the organization and society at larger are all interdependent and influence each other interdependent component. Any behaviors or actions in any particular area will have a direct impact on the other areas. This is especially important in leadership theory as it recognizes the need to break down silos, increase collaboration, and think sustainably.

In regards to Adaptation and Change in the context of leadership, the leader’s ability to recognize the contextual factors and be responsive to those are well documented by researchers. Leaders must be able to recognize that change is a constant, especially in today’s fluid and global economy, and be able to meet the external needs of the context and environment in which they are leading.

The concept of Equifinality in systems theory and as it relates to leadership theory is the understanding that there are a multitude of ways to achieve results or to reach the desired end states and that leaders must allow for innovative solutions to emerge from their diverse teams. The interdisciplinary connection here is also in the understanding of creating psychological safety, building trust, and encouraging creativity by practicing inclusion.

Emergence is the understanding that because each subcomponent is interdependent and interconnected, there is extreme potential to influence the development of positive (or negative) culture through intentional interactions between the subcomponents that will influence the whole system. Specifically, the leaders’ understanding of themselves and mastering their social interactions will positively or negatively influence their subordinates, leadership teams, and the organization as a whole.

Finally, Feedback Loops are a crucial area of both systems theory and leadership theory and the critical evaluation of individual contexts as a part of the larger whole, and the feedback from those, allow leaders and organizations the opportunity and flexibility to be responsive and adaptive to changes as needed, and in the moment.

Let’s Talk About Continuous Evaluation

            Acknowledging that leadership and contexts are fluid and ever-evolving, the idea of evaluating such a comprehensive and dynamic perspective is daunting at best. However, as previously noted several times, evaluation is an essential component of any action or activity and must be considered from the start. While feedback loops described above are crucial to the evaluation process, this perspective also requires a framework to establish core competencies for continuous evaluation by all parties and at all levels.

Coach Aang is not yet ready to solidify these areas of competencies but proposes that no more than ten competencies, that are holistic and inclusive of the above components, should be proposed and should ideally already have evaluative criteria that is empirically backed. As an example, emotional and social intelligence are key areas of this perspective and within the leadership research already and both of these competencies come with rigorous criteria for leaders to evaluate and grow.

Coach Aang also proposes something similar in that the ten competencies could be self and community evaluated to show where the leaders’ strengths and opportunities for growth lie in each of the competencies, and then the leader or organization could choose their top priorities to focus on, in order to ensure they have a core foundation of the competencies that will allow them to flex and grow into different contexts and environments.

Another key area to focus on for evaluation of this perspective would be to continue to identify desirable traits of conscious leaders. As Bhatnagar, Nigam, Prashant, and Caprihan (2016, p. 84-85) noted, “Conscious leaders are aware… they develop leaders and motivate their teams… are competent and efficient… demonstrate ethical conduct and live honestly… have presence of mind…are transformational and try to bring about impact… are transparent and credible…and compassionate towards all beings”.

These traits and others should be explored and researched to provide a holistic perspective and evaluation of these competencies.

Ideally, researchers could use Truskie’s concept of “4 positive elements of culture” model that has identified core components and links them to specific evaluative criteria that has been empirically tested (MBTI, EQ, SQ). This idea of having a foundation of core competencies that the leader must have for every situation and context, and that they can “flex” into other areas as the situation and context dictates, is the proposed premise for evaluating this perspective.

In identifying core competencies, each with essential core skills, researchers could then utilize already developed evaluation criteria for each area and then build in new criteria from the research in conscious leadership and systems theories. This approach would require continued to support the research teams attempting to identify the various competencies and tacit knowledge required for the conscious leadership perspectives (Jones & Brazdau, 2015; Mackey, 2020; Rosen & Swann, 2018; Dethmer, Chapman, & Klemp, 2014; Marincic & Maric, 2018; Renesch, 2010; and Kubatova & Krocil, 2021) and a willingness to explore such a complex and dynamic perspective.

However, with a framework for leaders to gain practical experience and receive 360 feedback on all content areas, Coach Aang is confident that leaders can build their competence to move from insight to mental muscle through the integration of knowledge from the appropriate contexts, exploration, and continued learning.

Let’s close this out-

Turner and Baker (2018) write, “Leadership is a multilevel construct and current leadership theories should be presented as multilevel theories rather than individual theories” and that “leadership is a dynamic process that must be adaptive to the environment and responsive to the needs of the followers, as well as the goals and vision of the executive suite”. 

The Conscious and Committed Leadership perspective is in alignment with Turner and Baker’s comments and proposes a multilevel perspective that recognizes all the complexities, and dynamic nature of, leadership, as well as the leader’s awareness of themselves and others and their ability to integrate and adapt their behaviors for the various contextual factors in order to influence systemic change.

Specifically, this perspective is built on a foundation of consciousness in which the individual must have an awareness of themselves and others, be able to integrate key habits and behaviors in the appropriate contexts and exude the ability to influence systemic change through their personal mastery of Self, Social, and Systems.

The author’s definition of leadership is the ability to effectively integrate a transdisciplinary approach to mastering the self, mastering social dynamics, and mastering systems to positively influence change and increase the consciousness of all is inclusive of the latest research recommendations to utilize “an integrative model where leader behaviors mediate the relationship between leader traits and effectiveness is warranted” (Derue et al., 2011, p. 7) and understands, “leadership effectiveness depends on the leader’s ability to tailor his or her behavior to the demands of the situation” (Schindler, 2015, p.7).

This perspective also recognizes that “the nature of the leadership effectiveness criteria plays an important role in determining which traits and behaviors are most important” (Derue et al., 2011, p. 40) and posits the critical importance of the leaders need to know and understand themselves as leaders and what they are trying to accomplish before deciding which skills to implement and evaluate to reach their targets.

It is in alignment with the idea that leadership is “multidimensional in that it must be positioned in the ‘cross-cultural, geographical, and socio-political contexts’” and must involve a more integrated, updated, contextual, and inclusive approach that “define and test the leadership theories highlighted under the categories of collective and global leadership theories”.

Writing that “this almost evangelistic notion of the leader as a multi-talented individual with diverse skills, personal qualities, and a large social conscience, however, possess a number of difficulties”, Bolden and colleagues (2003) help to illuminate that “inputs will be different in every case and the outputs will emerge from the process rather than being predefined”. They also share, “it is not so much the framework in itself that is important, but the process by which it is developed” as a “voyage of discovery” for the organization which is “vital that key players take ownership”, suggesting a more dispersed organizational leadership style that encourages buy-in to the process.

With all these great insights, it becomes clear that the field of leadership theory is in dire need of a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates a global, collective, and socially contextual approach. This holistic and transdisciplinary approach aims to have leaders embody and experience the journey more than the destination itself.

Conscious and committed leadership proposes a holistic, transdisciplinary, and contextual perspective built on a foundation of consciousness that recognizes the complexities of leadership, the leader’s awareness of themselves and others, and their ability to integrate and adapt their behaviors for the various contextual factors in order to influence systemic change. It pulls from various fields of research and emphasizes systemic insight, intentionality in thoughts and actions, the need for all human intelligences, the ability to competently apply their knowledge, and the refraction of their consciousness into their organizations and society at large.

It also sees leadership as an agent of change for creating world consciousness and aims to elevate the consciousness of society through conscious leaders and organizations making intentional decisions every day with systemic insight and disciplined social interactions. As with any leadership theory, this perspective also focuses on change and the related concepts for leading change that build on the people and process competencies.

Leaders must be able to envision and manage change by creating a culture of inclusion and innovation, inspiring positive organizational development, implementing design thinking, and empowering others to participate in distributed leadership. This perspective includes leadership “taking calculated risks and encouraging their followers to do the same” and tolerating early failures as opportunities for both personal and organizational growth (Soleas, 2020). It also includes the leader knowing and understanding their people so that they can fuel their follower’s interest and drive to complete the leader’s vision through their own innovation. Finally, the authors also suggest a continuous evaluation cycle for leaders to update their skills and organizations to update their frameworks for leaders to “remain dynamic and current” and to “remain with the times and encourage creativity and diversification”.

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