20 February 2023 - MOVE with the 5 C's - transcend the 4 reflexes

I was on a regular call with friends a couple of hours back.

Carol & David were in the limelight talking about their book that's to be released tomorrow.

It's titled "Real-time Leadership..."

Your agenda was a little different today, and it was shared with grandma and mum..

Looking forward to the years that are to come, in yours' and your sister's lives, let me revert to my group chat.. and to share a few of the take-aways.

First take-away..

Leaders (& don't forget that self-leadership is something that we all have to address in life) need to kick off in any situation by doing a check in with themselves. The 5C model was articulated. The 5 C's to check one's level on were, "Am I..

- Calm

- Clear

- Curious

- Compassionate

- Courageous"

(As a note of respect, Dr Richard Schwartz's 'Internal family Systems' model was the original source of the thinking here) 

Second take-away..

This related to situations in which we are challenged. A model of four potential 'reflexes' was shared. I'd previously know of it as three prong. Here are the four:

- Fight

- Flight

- Freeze

- be-Friend

The new expansion for my mind was the idea of the fourth element. I'll share more about later, after I learn more myself. 

One thing that was noted in this context was a warning for leaders. Good leaders rely on their reflexes. Their reflexes are a result of years of pattern recognition. The reflexes don't necessarily match the needs of turbulent times, or new contexts. Transcending one's reflexes is sometimes called for. Now there is a life challenge!

Third take-away..

This relates to something that Victor Frankl once wrote. He referred to the space between any stimulus and your response. He noted that in that space is freedom. Freedom to choose how you respond.

 

The Real-time Leadership idea puts for a model of thinking that aims to help one best use that space and to best use that freedom.

The model that Carol & David put forward goes by the acronym: MOVE.

- be Mindfully alert

- generate Options

- Validate your Vantage point

- Engage & Effect change

I particularly liked something that David said regarding generating options. "You don't just need willpower, you need way-power". Back to one of our favorite subjects: creativity!

Just like a good leader should..

I hope that you and your sister see life as a source of constant learning and evolution.

I hope that you and your sister go through life consistently improving your self awareness

I hope that you and your sister learn to realize that the greater your level of self awareness, the greater the potential quality of your life & the greater the potential for positive impact on the lives of others too.

💕💕💕