THE SIMPLE LINE THAT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LEADERSHIP

There's a simple black line that I teach my clients that changes how they see themselves in relationship to their world. It's both a powerful leadership tool and a valuable life skill.

It's a concept I've learned from a few different groups including the fine folks at the Leadership Circle, the BeAbove Neuroscience Coaching program and the Conscious Leadership group. Each of them has a slightly different spin on the line, however the basic concept is the same. You are always coming from either above the line or below the line and learning to locate yourself helps you gain awareness and experience of life. Using it over time will transform you and your leadership.

You can start using it as a way to identify where you are coming from and evaluate the impact and opportunities available to you.

Here it is:

Simple, right? Yup.

Now, to start using it. All you need to ask yourself is "where am I coming from, above the line or below the line?" In other words, "How are you relating to what is happening in your life right now?”

Here's how you know on what side of the line you are coming from.

You are Above the Line (ATL) if you are listening deeply, curious and open to learning.

When you're above the line, you are accessing your prefrontal cortex, the place of creativity, innovation, connection, empathy and openness. Your internal physiology is such that you're alert, focused, calm and empathetic. You come from play, curiosity, appreciation, integrity and learning. You deeply embrace the mindset that EVERYTHING is an opportunity to learn and appreciate EVERYTHING in life as a way to grow. You value learning over being right, growth over struggle and see the humour in almost everything. You question all your beliefs, even the ones you've held for decades. You feel expansive, intentional and aligned.

You are Below the Line (BTL) if you are blaming, defensive and committed to being right.

When you're below the line, you try to convince others that you are right, you blame external factors for what is happening in your life, and see the world as a place of scarcity and not enough. Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough love. You seek control, approval and security and believe these must be protected. You believe the stories you make up about what is happening around you, and take life as a serious endeavour with a variety of problems that must be solved and figured out. If you find yourself blaming, justifying, rationalizing and gossiping, you are below the line. If you avoid conflict or seek conflict as a way to win, you are below the line.

The Conscious Leadership Group has a great video to help you locate yourself, above or below the line. You can find that HERE.

You are hardwired to go below the line.

Now, before you convince yourself that you live mostly above the line and start naming those around you that are below the line (both BTL behaviours!), let me be clear - humans are hardwired to go below the line.

That's right, our brain is predisposed to go below the line, because one of its primary functions is to keep us safe and scan for threats. When it does so, a chemical cocktail is released that has us come from below the line. While this is meant to keep us alive against physical threats, our brain can't tell the difference between physical threats to our survival and psychological threats to our identity and so in both instances we become reactive and defensive.

The point here is that it is entirely normal to be below the line, and truthfully most of us, most of the time, come from below the line.

It's important to bring awareness to where we're coming from, fully accept ourselves for being BTL and appreciate all the good reasons why we are below the line (because they exist, otherwise you wouldn't be BTL). Through awareness and acceptance we start to open up the possibility of shifting above the line. It's the only path I know to shift. The only way I have ever found myself shifting.

So there it is. The simple line that has the power to increase your self-awareness, opent he door to self-acceptance and set the building blocks for curiosity, innovation, collaboration and connection.

Where are you right now, my friend - above the line, or below?

For more on this concept, check out the Conscious Leadership Group.

Warmly,

Lisa

Lisa is an Executive Coach, Founder & CEO of LDR Leadership Labs. For more from Lisa, join the LDR Leadership Community on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/company/ldrleadershiplabs and sign up for the LDR Insiders Newsletter here.