Heart Healing + Embodied Communication
Heart Healing
Taking another step up our pyramid the next level I call Heart Healing - and at its core essence it is the ability and willingness to forgive and trust.
It is a bit of a resonant concept because the more you forgive and trust the more you heal your heart. And the more you heal your heart, the easier it becomes to forgive and trust.
Taking the time to check in with your heart and see where holding records of past wrongs, grudges, and offense have hardened you.
This can be a difficult concept especially in business where for many it can feel analogous to war. Shifting from the competitive to the creative mind can be a powerful and advantageous shift here.
Forgiving is often conflated with giving someone another chance. Another chance may be involved if you choose so. However, a complete release or readjustment of boundaries can also accompany forgiveness.
The key is you are not holding on to anger, grief, and resentment that sour your disposition and ability to care, trust, and be present for what matters.
Holding on to the past is how over time we become more jaded and less compassionate or even lose hope as leaders.
Taking the time to intentionally be with your heart space is a way to not only ensure this impact isn’t layered on but it also allows you to begin renewing and rejuvenating your the ways your heart may have hardened.
Inside of this work you also strengthen your relationship with yourself. Your ability to trust yourself, listen to your inner guidance, and take action flow more easily with hear healing work. .
Heart-centered work and leadership begins within - every single time.
Embodied Communication
Moving up the pyramid at the next level is a concept I call Embodied Communication.
I use the term embodied communication because often times people think they are communicating yet because what they are saying isn’t full embodied they’re really just talking at each other or even come across as lying.
With embodied communication one takes the time to get clear on their varied levels of experiencing the situation. Often times when something that creates a strong charge and involves others occurs various alarm systems can go off.
This is precisely why at times we default to communicating and treating each other in harsh ways.
For those, committed to compassionate leadership and overall way of life learning to listen to and integrate these various alarm systems for clarity can provide useful.
It may be helpful to sit down, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and reflect on what is present for you. What are your initial thoughts or feelings? What lay underneath those initial thoughts? Is anything else at play?
As you get clear on what is present for you, then take the time to get clear on the communication necessary to relay this and address what is at hand.
Inner clarity creates the alignment that allows for an authentic full body communication.
I once had a coaching client who was a Manager at a Big IV Consulting firm. She was struggling with her teammates and the person she reported to on a project.
There were repeated incidents where her she felt marginalized, dismissed, and at times unsen by her coworkers - not to mention simply left out of the camaraderie.
We worked through what was present for her in this repeated interactions, what was present for her, and how she had been responding until now.
She had mentioned the incidents to her manager but he essentially told her not to worry about it or take it personal.
Using the Embodied Communication framework we cleaned up the energy around the situation. This was to no fault of her own, yet and still, their behavior affected her and really impacted how she felt abot herself.
Once we cleaned that up, we got clear on what she truly needed and wanted in the situation. The issue at hand transcended their one off comments and behavior to the crux of her wanting more from her career.
From this space I coached her on the communication (and actions) necessary for her to step into the desired outcome. This included a conversation with the person she reported to again. This time, her entire communication verbally and non-verbally had shifted.
Her request for full ownership of a portion of the project and to move forward with a strategy she had developed was approved.
Oddly enough, in this conversation, her manager acknowledged how others had treated her and said he would address it. That was no longer a primary concern for her and handled it self.
He experienced the fully embodied communication when she got clear.
Our Embodied Communication framework is a powerful tool to deliberately walk through the various layers in which you may be impacted and distill the communication required.
Leaders need compassion and self-care just as much as anyone else. Cultivating compassion in your leadership does not look like martyrdom - that actually is just another form of manipulation the flips side of the coin of dominating,
It may seem like a lot to take on with the standard day’s pressing demands. However, a little bit goes a very long way. Beginning to integrate these components into your life will have a resounding effect.
This process is not linear and you may find yourself shifting in between various concepts as you work through a situation. They all work together and are presented in this structure to show how one builds on the other.
Set 5-10 minutes aside for a week to reflect on one of the concepts and set the intention to integrate it into your day. You will be pleasantly surprised with how it goes. Email me and let me know how it goes.