Are You A Leader Or A Manager?

Aloha all,

This entire week, we've had internet issues which was both a blessing and a HUGE HEADACHE!

What was fun about not being connected, was that I decided to focus on what could be done without being online. Turns out a sh*t load!

• I created an entire mini-course on Preventing Stress and Burnout which will shortly be available on my course platform, and on my preferred "social" site Insight Timer as a premium course (I'll let you know when it's all published)
• I drafted this newsletter...
• And more importantly I took more time to meditate and reconnect to my vision and mission.

So let’s talk about this more - Your vision and mission and how this helps you to become a more influential leader.

(And yes this newsletter will have a slightly more "spiritual" bend to it, so if you're up for that, stick around!)

One of the phrases that often comes out of my mouth is:

"Your job as a leader is to hold the vision, and to be the mission!"

Your job as a leader is to hold the vision, and to be the mission!

But what does this mean exactly?

Before we dive into that, let's take a side step (but relevant) to a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine.

He said: “There’s a big difference between being a manager and a leader”.

I completely agreed. But I would take this one step further:

"There's a big difference between being a manager, being a leader and being a conscious leader".

"There's a big difference between being a manager, being a leader and being a conscious leader".

So which one are you?

A manager is someone who:

• Delegates tasks
• Holds people accountable
• Views their team as workers who are replaceable
• Does what has been done before
• Sees their responsibility as being only what is in their contract or what enable them to reach their KPIs.

A leader is someone who, does the above BUT:

• Sees their responsibilities as more than just what is written - they feel a sense of responsibility for their team’s wellbeing
• Sees their team as equals and values them as essential
• Looks for new innovation, creative ways of improving their workplace and business AND
• Holds the values, vision and mission of their business or workplace.
• Is inspirational, supportive and motivational.

A Conscious Leader is someone who

Does all of the above but take it one step further still:

• They see each person as a gift
• They see their responsibility as being one of helping each individual become more empowered, more authentic and more fulfilled in their professional AND personal lives
• Views their team as their equals and their teachers - people who they can learn as much from, as they learn from them.
• Is not only innovative and creative, but truly leading as a change-maker in their place of work. And that change is influenced by…

• Their embodiment of:

1. Their deep core values
2. Their vision of creating positive change
3. And a personal mission of bringing more peace, harmony and Joy {insert words that you prefer that capture this} into the world that they bring to their personal and professional life.

This is what I mean by

"To be a leader is to hold the vision, and to be the mission!"

When you have a strong sense of your own personal values and vision, and a sense of why you have been put here on earth (your mission) and you can bring these forth through the way you act and interact with your people, everything, including your role as a leader, becomes more fulfilling and fruitful.

This is especially true when your people, your team, your clients, your workplace or business is in in a low spot: motivation is down, people are feeling disgruntled or there's no sense of team for example.

Your ability to hold the vision and be the mission, is what can help turn the tides of your workplace culture, your client's self-belief and your team's motivation

Your ability to hold the vision and be the mission, is what can help turn the tides of your workplace culture, your client's self-belief and your team's motivation and so on.

You help to bring love and light into hours of a person's life, just be holding the vision and being the mission.

Isn't that worth doing?

In this same conversation with my friend, I mentioned to him that the reason I wanted to work with professionals in more traditional (corporate) settings, was because the workplace is like school:

There is such a huge opportunity for you to positively influence people's lives, because most people spend their lives working a 9-5.

There is such a huge opportunity for you to positively influence people's lives, because most people spend their lives working!

If you are a leader in such a workplace, you are in a unique opportunity to positively influence the lives of all the people around you.

• You spend 8 hours of the day with these people - more than their other friends or family.
• You have 40 hours of their attention each week
• You have around 2000 hours a year of which you can communicate, relate to and role-model positive change. A change to more compassion, kindness and conscious living/being.

I have a need to explain what I mean by consciousness and conscious living. It's not the recycling, single use plastics, conscious living (although this does have it's place in the bigger idea of consciousness that I'm talking about).

Consciousness is what creates I Am, your sense of identity and place in the world. It's also how we can plan, imagine, reflect etc.

But more importantly it's the bridge that enables us to connect to what sages call "higher consciousness" or higher wisdom and truths. These truths take us away from egoic, inherently selfish actions and focus, to a more compassionate, all-encompassing, mutually beneficial relationship with people and the world at large.

This is the conscious living and consciousness that I am talking about.

{Consciousness is} the bridge that enables us to connect to "higher consciousness" or higher wisdom and truths. These truths take us away from egoic, inherently selfish actions and focus, to a more compassionate, all-encompassing, mutually beneficial relationship with people and the world at large.

So, back to the question.... Which one are you?

A manager?

A leader?

Or a Conscious Leader?

Now many people will be happy to just stay as managers or leaders. That’s enough.  

But this is the call for those of you who desire to be more than just that: You want to have a positive part in changing the course of people’s lives. You are desiring to become a more Conscious Leader!

You want to have a positive part in changing the course of people’s lives. You are desiring to become a more Conscious Leader!

Conscious Leadership is more than just “being nice” and communicating well and building rapport and creating a good culture and so on. It’s rooted in a deep desire to create positive change.

You recognise the gift and the opportunity of your role as a leader, and you’re not going to waste it!

I’m here for all of that!

Are you?

Arohanui,

Nik Chung

ps. I love and appreciate you Conscious Leader! If you are wanting to grow your influence and become an even better leader that changes lives in your workplace, let’s talk! 

I am filling up my 1:1 spots for next quarter.  Message me if you’re interested and I’ll gift you an obligation free 60min exploration call to identify what areas are your priority to improve your leadership skills.