have observed huge, negative impact on profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flows when senior executives operate out of prefabricated biases. Leaders who do not begin by understanding what is present waste time, talent, and money by chasing assumptions. Even successful companies like HP, Toyota, and Xerox have experienced billions of dollars of losses when executives failed to appreciate what was present in their own company and the marketplace before pursuing their own preferred acquisition or high-risk investment.
Reinhart’s experience shows that Connected Leaders begin with what is present and end up more informed, trusted, and productive. Superior Leaders, on the other hand, tend to think they already know all they need to know. Which leader do you want to be?
Presence Principle #4: Presence improves performance
If we are aware of what is actually happening around us, we naturally operate at the top of our talent. We notice things others miss and take actions others do not. Savvy leaders can help people be more effective by developing better presence.
To make the point, here is a presence experiment we adapted from W. Timothy Gallwey’s creative work in The Inner Game of Golf, which is illuminating even if you do not play golf.
Get a putter and three golf balls, and position yourself 10 to 15 feet from a golf hole or a similarly sized target (e.g., business card or a drinking glass on its side). You can do this inside on a rug or carpet. Position the ball, and then follow these steps:
1. Notice thoughts you have about putting the ball into the hole. If you are with a trusted friend tell them the thoughts, such as, “I don’t have good hand-eye coordination,” or “What will this prove?” If alone, just acknowledge those thoughts to yourself. Then take three deep breaths, noticing the moment when you pass from inhale to exhale.
2. Notice emotions that are present, like, “This is embarrassing,” or “I feel foolish.” Take three deep breaths, noticing the moment when you pass from inhale to exhale.
3. Place your putter behind the ball so you are ready to putt. Close your eyes and putt the ball toward the hole. Then, with eyes closed, predict where the ball went relative to the hole. For example, “I think it is short of the hole by about three feet and to the right about two feet.” Open your eyes and notice where it actually went.
4. Close your eyes and hit again. Feel the ball as it touches the face of the putter. Predict where it went. Open eyes and check.
5. Take a deep breath, noticing the passage of your breath from in to out. Close your eyes, hit again, and predict the result.
6. Now, just hit a few putts with your eyes open.
All you did is notice your own thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. What do you notice about the results? Most people find their predictions get more accurate, and so does their putting. This reveals an essential truth: when you notice other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, you will find your predictions about them are more accurate, too.
The more we are present, the more naturally our thoughts, emotions, and bodies align with our goals. Effort declines and effectiveness improves. This applies to a lot more than golf. No matter what the subject, presence is key to operating at the top of your talent.
Presence Principle #5: Presence improves with practice
Practicing presence develops our capacity to give our attention rather than have it taken, and cultivating presence produces practical results. The following passage is from the February 15, 2010 edition of Penn News. The article uses “mindfulness” for much of what we mean by “presence.”
A University of Pennsylvania-led study in which training was provided to a high-stress U.S. military group preparing for deployment to Iraq has demonstrated a positive link between mindfulness training, or MT, and improvements in mood and working memory. Mindfulness is the ability to be aware and attentive of the present moment without emotional reactivity or volatility. The study found that the more time participants spent engaging in daily mindfulness exercises, the better their mood, working memory (the cognitive term for complex thought), problem solving, and cognitive control of emotions. The study also suggested that sufficient mindfulness training may protect against functional impairments associated with high-stress challenges that require a tremendous amount of cognitive control, self-awareness, situational awareness, and emotional regulation—something leaders in all complex organizations face.
Presence is not a “soft skill”—it is a hard business asset and worthy of practice. And everyone who relies on your judgment benefits when you strengthen your presence.
Practicing Presence: What you can do to improve
We’ve covered a lot of ideas on the power of presence. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our time working with busy executives, it’s that we’re quicker to understand ideas than to take action on them. These practices are designed to turn ideas into action.
Knowledge is powerful, but it is not transformative until it is put into practice. At the end of each chapter we will share three to four practices we know improve connected leadership. These practices are designed to help you apply the knowledge you gain so that you can achieve the results you want with less time, money, and stress. Think of them as investments.
When it comes to presence, we suggest you practice in all three areas:
• Physical: presence of body
• Emotional: presence of emotion
• Rational: presence of mind
Presence cannot be forced and occurs most naturally through a mood of relaxed vigilance.
To demonstrate, here is a quick experiment. Put a coin on a table. Tense the muscles in your forearms and hands and, with the muscles still tense, pick up the coin. Then, consciously relax your forearms and hands, and pick up the coin.
What do you notice?
Most people report they pick up the coin more easily and quickly the second time. Tension also can be mental (worry) and emotional (anxiety). The first practice is simply relaxing our body, emotions, and mind so that we can more easily pick up what is happening around us physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Now, let’s add vigilance. To be vigilant is to be consciously attentive. Have someone toss you five or six colored markers at the same time. What happened? Now, ask the person to pick up the markers and prepare to toss them to you again. This time, however, focus all your attention on one marker, as though catching it earns you $1 million. Take a breath, relax, and smile as they’re tossed. What happened?
If you easily and calmly caught the one marker, even as the other ones flew at you, you experienced the special benefit of relaxed vigilance. Relaxed vigilance takes conscious practice, which you can do throughout the day. The goal of the practice is to:
• Notice tension.
• Breathe consciously.
• Relax your muscles, mind, and emotions.
• Focus your attention (give attention rather than have it taken).
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