Reflections on spirituality in leadership: insights, values, connection, and taking practical action, with Andrew Cohn
In this thought-provoking episode of the Spirituality in Leadership Podcast, host Andrew Cohn delves into key themes and insights from previous episodes, weaving together lessons on spirituality and leadership. With heartfelt gratitude for the diverse perspectives shared by past guests, Andrew explores the intersection of personal effectiveness, leadership impact, and the integration of spirituality into professional practice.
Andrew emphasizes the importance of aligning with personal values, embracing cultural awareness, and drawing inspiration from nature to cultivate resilience and creativity. Drawing on rich examples from his executive coaching experience, he offers reflective questions to inspire listeners to examine how their own experiences, values, and beliefs shape their leadership style and personal growth. This episode invites a deeper exploration of what it means to lead with purpose and authenticity.
Key Takeaways
Reflection on key themes from previous discussions about spirituality and leadership.
Importance of personal values in leadership.
Cultural awareness and its role in effective leadership.
Integration of spirituality into leadership practices.
The impact of nature on resilience and creativity.
Examples from executive coaching and team alignment work.
Diverse perspectives from various guests on meaningful work and relationships.
Encouragement for listeners to engage in self-reflection and personal growth.
The significance of authenticity and connection in leadership.
Practical application of discussed themes in real-world scenarios.
In This Episode:
(00:00:00) Introduction to individual reflection
(00:00:26) Gratitude for guests
(00:01:26) Discussion of guest topics
(00:02:45) Inspirational nature of conversations
(00:05:07) Quotes and themes of service
(00:06:23) Cultural awareness in leadership
(00:08:53) Nature's role in resilience
(00:10:22) Client work examples
(00:13:06) Team dynamics and values
(00:14:24) Practicality over buzzwords
(00:15:33) Reflective questions for leadership
(00:18:11) Conclusion and call to action
Resources and Links
Spirituality in Leadership Podcast
Andrew Cohn
Music:
Kodiak: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe
Listen to the podcast
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Transcript
[00:00:00] Andrew Cohn: This episode of the podcast is an individual episode. I like to do these a few times a year as a way of distilling some key themes from the conversations, sharing a little bit about the, some of the feedback that I'm receiving, sharing some real life examples from some client work that I'm doing in my individual executive coaching and team alignment work and leadership programs of different types.
[00:00:24] And it just as a way of staying current and checking in, it. with all of you listeners about what I'm taking away from some of these episodes. And at this point, I would check in with you with first a real note of gratitude for the range of guests that have been on the show. I've been super grateful, appreciative of different people sharing their wisdom and their time.
[00:00:48] They're Areas of focus, which I might describe really as kind of like capillaries to the broad topic of spirituality and leadership and broadly defining [00:01:00] spirituality, what that means for people, either in terms of certainly their own faith or their own spiritual practices, but also the dimensions of ourselves that some might call spiritual, and then also the broad definition of leadership.
[00:01:13] From individual leadership and self management and self mastery, beginning with self awareness, to leadership in business roles, leadership in family and community, and also societal leadership. And within the past six months, there's been conversations about all of those, I'm happy to say. So, The conversations have included conversations with Aaron Hurst, who wrote the wonderful, best selling book, The Purpose Economy, with Barney Singer, an expert in international programs out of Washington, D.
[00:01:43] C., Sean Harvey talking about engaging in compassionate conversations as a tool for healing, Chetan Roy, an experienced international banker in India, talking about the influence and impact of yoga practices and philosophy in [00:02:00] leadership. Rebecca Wilson, a mindfulness teacher and coach in Ottawa, Canada, who talks about individual effectiveness and increasing the capacity of leadership through mindfulness with Chris Thorson.
[00:02:12] An expert practitioner in the application of aikido principles in leadership and organizational culture development And chris is an old friend and colleague of mine whose input. I really really appreciate comes from a different place But super super practical and that's what I love about this podcast.
[00:02:30] The ideas are very very practical We heard from my friend and colleague tom hurley Talking about how we can allow ourselves to be more transparent Transcribed To what is most true for us in the context of leading in business and Matt and Karen fine in Virginia talking about simple ways to incorporate dimensions of spirituality, including groundedness.
[00:02:55] Into community leadership and family life, as well as business leadership. [00:03:00] And these conversations and others to me demonstrate a great degree of resourcefulness of open mindedness. Actually, to some extent, they demonstrate heroism and courage and flexibility. And how can I bring more of myself to what I do for the betterment of the people with whom I do it.
[00:03:21] And the results that I and these people will together accomplish. And the conversations also inspire me to open myself up to more dimensions and deeper dimensions of my own experience, my own wisdom, to share in my personal and professional life. So I like listening to podcasts that inspire me. And for me, it's a real treat to recognize that I'm actually producing some of these conversations and it's inspiring to me.
[00:03:49] So if you'll permit me, it's a little bit selfish of me to say that, but it's totally true. And I acknowledge that. So I do really enjoy these conversations and they can be quite inspiring. I am [00:04:00] grateful for how these guests have modeled this behavior and it just invites me into to challenge myself and I've developed some questions coming out of these conversations, which I'd like to share with you, which I will in a few minutes at the end of this.
[00:04:16] At the end of this recording, the podcast also remind me that there's a wide range of context and approaches to personal effectiveness, to leadership impact, and then more broadly to good citizenship and meaningful living. And one thing that I love about having such a range of guests and a range of inputs into the podcast is that.
[00:04:39] The breath just keeps continuing and as long as it's relevant and useful and applicable in the context of leadership, as far as I'm concerned, it's appropriate for this podcast and I'm happy to continue to share these with you. Again, just celebrating the breadth of these contributions. Now, as I thought about this podcast and [00:05:00] preparing some notes for it, I was reminded of a wonderful quotation from Martin Luther King, who said, everybody can be great because anybody can serve.
[00:05:07] And the encouragement that I hear from him and from the writings similar to that is the invitation to bring our gifts, to bring what's most important to us, to bring those deeper dimensions that some may call the most important. spiritual and to serve wherever we may be called to serve using those deeper qualities.
[00:05:27] So in some of the podcast episodes I've been reviewing in the past six months, that includes bringing our compassion to hyper masculine environments, almost like militant environments, perhaps bringing martial arts principles into the corporate world, bringing 12 step principles of recovery and healing into family life and business, bringing Roman Catholic counseling principles into corporate coaching.
[00:05:54] That's something that was discussed in a recent episode. Applying the traditional principles of yoga in [00:06:00] leadership in the financial world. Considering what Heaven on Earth means to us, that was a conversation I had with Martin Root concerning his new book, Project Heaven on Earth, really delightful episode and conversation we had, and how all of this impacts our work as organizational leaders.
[00:06:18] Great, great breadth, relevance, and opportunities to apply some of this great thinking. The feedback that I've been receiving continues to be very affirming. People want to consider these issues. What's interesting is that I have heard from people, expectedly and very honestly and candidly, that they've said, Well, this one I didn't resonate with as much as this other episode.
[00:06:38] Totally great. I honestly might not believe you if you told me that you loved every episode. I have, but I'm in a unique seat here. But some resonate more than others, and the beauty is the breadth, and the beauty is the opportunity to have these conversations act as a toolkit for us, and a quiver. To reach back to, to pull out the arrow or the tool that would be [00:07:00] useful in our individual contexts.
[00:07:01] So people want to consider these issues. They want to identify their own priorities and values. They want to clarify what brings me meaning and purpose. And then apply that using some of the strategies that have been discussed in just virtually every podcast. And the energy that. Purpose and meaning provides and propels us to apply.
[00:07:26] And generally in my work as a consultant and coach, my observations that leaders at all levels really are doing their best to bring their values into their work. Perhaps that's more true of more experienced quote unquote, elder leaders who. have graduated to some level of maturity and experience and recognize the need for fulfillment and purpose and not just getting ahead, quote unquote, and maybe you're looking for something more tapping into some of their elderhood, if you will.
[00:07:57] But it's also true of younger [00:08:00] leaders. And I find this in my consulting work, working with groups. I usually coach people who are a little bit older, not necessarily the youngest leaders in my coaching, but I But I also am a father of a 24 year old and I've talked to him and his friends and, and I observed that the younger generation appears to be much more fluent in language related to making a positive difference in the world, having an impact, I want to work in a role that makes a difference in the world.
[00:08:26] And that obviously is extremely encouraging to me. I'd also note that one of the themes. that's come through a number of different episodes of the podcast is that of nature. And although it hasn't necessarily been the glaring title of any particular episodes, a number of guests have referred to the impact of nature as a resource for resilience, for centering, for innovation and creativity.
[00:08:53] You may have seen the book talk, the video book talk that I recorded and shared. A year or two [00:09:00] ago, it's up on my Lighthouse team's website, and the book is called The Extended Minds, The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. And in that, I shared some of the research that was presented by the author about how being in nature relaxes our minds.
[00:09:18] That's not surprising to know that the research shows that when we are in nature, among the trees, for example. Our nervous systems calm down and it stimulates our innovation and creativity. Not surprising. Wonderful book, by the way. And Nature also can be a reference, in my experience, a reference point for beauty and cooperation and harmony.
[00:09:39] Nature invites harmonic relationships and quickly corrects those relationships that are not harmonic, sometimes in very rough ways, Mother Nature will have her way and things will cooperate. Nature is a reference point for healthy growth. It's also a reference point, in my view, and a great example for taking the long [00:10:00] view of what really is sustainable.
[00:10:02] And I'm fortunate to have deep and delightful access to nature at my home, my home in Santa Fe, including Access to horses who are beautiful co facilitators for peace and rejuvenation, not to mention purpose and focus and great community behavior and shared leadership. And many of you know that I offer these types of experiences, individual and shared and team and board experiences for clients, boards of directors, et cetera, that feature these deep practical dimensions of connection with nature, including with the horses.
[00:10:38] And speaking of client work, I'd love to share a few examples of the application of some of these principles. One concerns the CEO of an American transportation technology company that's owned by a European parent organization. And I'm working with the CEO whose role is increasing from national. U. S.
[00:10:59] CEO [00:11:00] to be the leader of the broader business in multiple countries, actually 11 different countries, including the U. S. And he has had to broaden his awareness to allow for greater cross cultural communication, differences, challenges. Increasing his sensitivity in terms of cultural awareness and communication, listening at a deeper level to anticipate concerns of his teams at a variety of levels, the imperative, as he's called it, the imperative to tune in at a deeper level to be more present and to lead more broadly, and In addition, very, very importantly, as he takes on this larger global role, to do all of this in a way that's aligned with his personal values.
[00:11:46] And one of the things that I emphasize in my work is that we can't lead as somebody else. We can emulate somebody else. We can try to show up the way they show up, but ultimately we can't show up the way they show up, and we need to show up [00:12:00] as us. And recognizing what our own individual values entail.
[00:12:05] And, uh, what's most important to us really equips us to lead in a more congruent and consistent and aligned way. And so I appreciate what this particular CEO client is doing and how it connects to some of the podcast themes that have come forward in recent months. Within the dimension of teams, I'm working with a division of a huge American automotive company, and it's a new organization that's being stood up in 2024 and 2025.
[00:12:34] It's really emphasizing the opportunity to understand and to tune into colleagues across individual personality and cultural differences on a team alignment level. It's Of course, involving respecting other people in broadening relationships, deepening trust, and as well as very practically improving shared performance.
[00:12:57] So some of this work involves [00:13:00] inviting healthy conflict on a foundation of trust and vulnerability based trust. It's connecting around personal values, whether those values are shared or not, to connect through understanding one another's personal values, improving cohesion, Minimizing unnecessary conflict, particularly unhealthy personal conflict, and boosting and inviting, as I mentioned, healthy task related conflict, which is so, so important in terms of team effectiveness, particularly when working virtually.
[00:13:32] And this is a group that's got people all over the country in this U. S. based business. And another theme I would call out that to me the podcast has has repeatedly come back to is that it is not at all necessary to talk about spirituality or religion in those terms to even use the word values or meaning or purpose or what brings you alive or any of those terms [00:14:00] that you're People may feel are not particularly business focused and they're not necessarily business focused, but they're people focused and they're practical and they're useful.
[00:14:10] So I encourage my clients to find ways to talk about things in ways that will be respectful and tolerable within the cultures in which they're operating. But there is a recognition that we need not use certain buzzwords. And in fact, I loathe buzzwords, if you know me. I loathe memes. And there's no need to force a term or a phrase or any sort of framework on anybody, because there's so many ways to talk about these ideas in terms of what's most important to us, what resonates most with us, etc.,
[00:14:44] what has the greatest meaning value connection. We need not use any particular terms. The impactful conversations that this podcast discusses and encourages really do not depend on any script or any particular words. [00:15:00] That's something that I've continued to hear informal feedback to me along the way, and also through the course of the podcast conversations themselves.
[00:15:08] So as I mentioned earlier, there are a number of questions that have come forward as I've reviewed some of these episodes, questions that invite me, and I would say I would encourage you, to be invited into this reflection about what we can learn about being more impactful leaders, broadening the scope of how we consider what might be quote unquote spiritual, or what matters to us, etc.
[00:15:33] Again, staying away from labels as not needed. But, Considering what's practical for you? So here's a series of questions that I'd, I'd love to leave you with. How can my faith and religious affiliation, or my formative religious experiences, how can they inform my values and the impact that I want to have in my leadership at work, at home, in my community?
[00:15:56] What's the impact that my religion and my religious [00:16:00] education and training can have on my leadership? How and where can I embody deep presence? And then from that place of presence. How can I actively engage in listening, really, really actively engage in listening from that place of presence? How can I bring deep compassion and deep acceptance of the other person into my interpersonal listening?
[00:16:26] Whether it's one on one, in groups, in feedback conversations, in performance conversations, in personal relationships as well. Where are the places I can bring deeper compassion and acceptance? Into my listening, how can I apply the lessons from my personal healing and my personal growth and healing journey toward my family toward other core communities into my work, into my leadership, and that could have something to do with recovery from addiction, other suffering, other loss and pain.
[00:16:57] How can I apply the lessons that I've learned from [00:17:00] my personal healing in my leadership, broadly defined. What's the role of national and ethnic culture in how I approach the spiritual parts of myself and the role of national culture in terms of how I approach and connect with people from other cultures?
[00:17:18] Because culture does play an important role in our lens through which we are seeing things related to deeper meaning and purpose and value in these deeper parts of ourselves. What's the role of national culture and ethnic culture for me and the people with whom I interact? How can I be more open to the deeper guidance within me, regardless of where that guidance comes from or how I interpret the source of that awareness.
[00:17:44] How can I be more open to that and then bring the benefits of that awareness into the world? And finally, what fulfills me? What is meaningful for me? What gives me purpose? What excites me? What energizes me? [00:18:00] Because knowing what fulfills me is really, really helpful in boosting my ability to get it, in moving towards and practicing what fulfills me.
[00:18:11] And this really gets back to that power of purpose and action. Aaron Hurst talked about that as we were talking about his book, The Purpose Economy. People at work want relationships, they want to have impact, and they want to grow. And which of those, and other things, is most fulfilling to me? The more I can become aware of that within myself, as well as articulate that in some form, the greater the chance that I'm going to get it.
[00:18:39] And to the extent that I can tune in to what fulfills other people in my leadership, people that I may serve and lead, the more likely I can be to help provide that to them. And that to me, of course, is a great, great gift and opportunity of leadership. So I leave you with these questions. Appreciate your listening.
[00:18:58] See you on the next podcast.