This is a course that offers creative mindfulness practices for improving executive presence. It empowers participants to experience themselves as being confident, enthusiastic & trustworthy, & thus being able to inspire others around them toward higher levels of performance & co-operation.
The qualities of executive presence participants are empowered to develop in this course are:
- Calm curiosity
- Imaginal vision
- Benevolence & goodwill
- Confident creativity
- Acceptance & compassion
- Humble self-assertion
- Trust & discernment
- Resilience in the face of uncertainty
Mindfulness practices are means to take ideas about executive presence and engage them in a way that they become an integral part of our way of going and being in the world. They create a space for the ‘rubber to hit the road’, enabling the idea of executive presence to become an active part off our real-time experience.
This course is unique in offering a full range of mindfulness practices around executive presence. It is also unique in approaching executive presence from two points of view:
- The traditional way in terms of ability to inspire confidence, trust and enthusiasm in the team you are leading and in colleagues
- Developing executive presence within yourself. This means the ability of your conscious mind to lead and inspire the different elements of your consciousness to work as an effective team.
These two are deeply interlinked. If we lack internal executive presence, then it will be difficult for us to establish authentic executive presence in the outer world of teams, organizations, and life. The mindfulness practices in the course are consequently focused around two types:
- Intra-personal – The ability to perceive and work effectively with what is going on within ourself
- Inter-personal – The ability to perceive and work effectively in your relationships and outer world
Course Content:
The course is created around eight main domains of executive presence:
Module 1: Turning up calm & curious – The Inquisitive Sumo Wrestler
This opening session establishes a stable base for dynamic executive presence by building a foundational state of awareness that is both stable & playful. Domains & exercises focused on include:
- How to breathe in a way that promotes relaxation under pressure, & natural self-regulation through functional breathing & centring
- Building stable sensory & somatic presence by learning how to sit & stand like a sumo-wrestler!
- Cultivating playful awareness & acceptance with the three ‘C’s
Module 2: Turning up larger than life – Working with your bright shadow
This module focuses on how to become someone who can do the things that you cannot do by working with your shadow self. The shadow self is the part of ourself that lies repressed within our unconscious. It is not just negative or ‘dark’ things that lie within our shadow self, it also contains untapped strengths and potentials. These unrecognized strengths & potentials are sometimes referred to as the ‘bright or golden shadow’. You will learn:
- How to access & relate to the person & leader we would like to be but can’t yet relate to
- How to do this in a way where you access that self NOW
- Learning how to do this in a ‘seriously light, and lightly serious’ manner
Module 3: Awakening your Big-Hearted Self – Building intentionality & goodwill toward yourself and others
We have an intention behind everything that we do. Some of these intentions are conscious and deliberate, others we are not aware of & are unconscious. All these intentions are having a direct effect on our life direction, our energy level, effectiveness & experience. In this session we focus on practical mindfulness exercises to:
- Extend benevolence & goodwill toward ourself in a way that is energising and supportive
- How to notice, appreciate & enjoy the goodwill & support we receive from others each day
- How to set conscious, benevolent intentions in your actions that extend goodwill into your life & invite it to flow back from others
Module 4: Turning up confident & creative
This session explores the theme of ‘Positive imperfectionism’, & Finding strength, confidence & creativity in your inherent vulnerability. We look ways of countering our ‘negative perfectionist’ & ‘inner critic’ by relating to ourself & others in a way that:
- Finds strength within vulnerability (strong back soft front)
- Works happily & effectively with our own & life’s imperfections, messiness & difficulties
- Can seize opportunities in difficult and ‘non-ideal’ situations
Module 5: Activating Compassionate Presence
This model focuses upon the development of authentic compassion through acceptance & therapeutic presence. Insecurities, regrets, resentments & repressions around our past prevent us from leaping into our present moment fully & enthusiastically. Likewise, over analysing & obsessing over the future can prevent us from engaging the present effectively. Capacities developed in this module include:
- Building a positive relationship to the past through therapeutic acceptance & reframing
- Re-calibrating our relationship to the future such that we show up truly ready for the present in a way that optimizes the future
Module 6: Strong ego, but not egotistic – The way of the mindful warrior
How can we turn up to our meetings and relationships in a way that is powerful & yet non-intimidating? How can we navigate disagreements, disagreeable people and even bullies in a way that invites the best results, and win-win where possible? These sessions invite the cultivation of the proverbial ‘peaceful warrior’ within us. It focuses on practices around:
- Humble self-assertion
- Being powerful & polite
- How to disagree pleasantly
Module 7: Innocent as a dove, wise as a snake – Turning up trustworthy
How can we be present in a way that invites the trust of others, & at the same time be confident in our own assessment of the trustworthiness (or not) of them? In this session we look at ways to:
- Build resilient Self-trust – Building your inner reputation with yourself
- Inviting the trust of others through presence
- Practical methods for assessing/discerning the degree of trustworthiness of other people
Session 8: Climbing the Mindful Mountain – Presence & vision in the face of uncertainty
The final session focuses on embodying quality executive presence in the face of uncertainty, change & volatility. What are different ways in which we can navigate uncertainty with imagination, courage & vision? Practices include:
- Centring in the eye of the storm, opening to possibility
- Amor Fati – loving your fate, enemies of carelessness & indifference
- Using future focus to create clarity and direction, rather than anxiety
Ways in which the program can be delivered:
The MEP Program can be delivered as:
- An 8-9 module program as described above
- As a full day workshop or two-day weekend retreat
- As a half-day or keynote (45-90mins) session, with tailored content curated for your specific needs
Integration tools
After each session participants will be sent:
- A Slide/PDF summary of exercise covered
- Recordings of the mindfulness & meditation exercises covered for personal practice
- Articles for further reading
The sessions can be delivered live-in person, online or in hybrid format.
Contact: To discuss the further possibility of bringing mindful resilience to your organization you can contact Toby at info@integralmeditationasia.com or phone 65-96750279