Consciousness

Are you the main character of your life? Do you practice unconditional responsibility?

In 2005 I worked for Citigroup. Citigroup had, in the post-Enron corporate scandal plagued environment, engaged a firm called Axialent to design a one-week course that was called “Conscious Business”. Citigroup’s aim was to help its senior managers become more skilled advocates and implementers of the values throughout the organization. The practical learning and insights I gained from this course were so applicable to work and personal situations that to this day it remains the best training courses I have ever attended.

I am going to attempt to explain a little bit of what that course imparted to me.

We are inundated with books that tell us that if we only do certain things and behave in certain ways, success is assured. But if we think about it we know that success – if it is defined as obtaining a desired result – is usually conditional upon some factors beyond our control. There is another perspective from which every action can be assessed beyond results – it is the perspective of the action’s integrity, which is its consistency with the person’s guiding objectives. There is no contradiction between success and integrity – many people fear that if they find satisfaction in honorable behavior they will somehow become soft in delivering results. But this is not the case. Those of us who have been, at one time or other, blinkered workaholics know that there is a limit to the energy you get if the drive for success crowds out all your other values. Success and virtue and respect and excellence can co-exist and when they do, and you are able to put those values into practice and express them in your behaviors – Fred Kofman, the founder of Axialent would say - you are acting with consciousness.

Consciousness means finding your passion, and expressing that passion and your essential values through your behavior. A conscious person seeks to promote the healthy pursuit of happiness in all facets of their life – who the person is at home is consistent with who he/she is at work. A conscious person takes full and unconditional responsibility for what happens in their life. You must be the main player in your own life; you cannot see yourself as a passive victim.

This is a powerful concept. We probably all see the two different mental models – that of the helpless unconscious victim and that of the powerful conscious player, displayed every day at work, unfortunately often the latter dominates. I confess I have been both in different moments. If my mind-set is that of a victim, in unsatisfactory situation I’ll focus and dwell on:

- What happened to me.
- How hurt and inconvenienced I feel.
- The persons who is perceived to have wronged and hurt me.
- What the other person should have done better.
- What the other person should do to fix the damage.
- How it will negatively affect me if the other person carries on this behavior.

The player looks at the situation with an entirely different mental model or set of lens. The player asks:

- What challenge did I face?
- What was my response?
- What was my goal?
- What values and principles would I like to guide my actions?
- What were the negative consequences of my behavior?
- What alternative action on my part would have been more effective to achieve success with integrity?
- Is there anything I can do now to minimize or repair the damage?
- What have I learnt from this experience?
- How do I feel acting as a player in this situation?

Let’s take an example from real life:

Another department sends to you just before noon on Thursday an urgent request for a proposal that they need handled within 24 hours. You work late and complete the task at the expense of the relationship with your family who resents your lack of work life balance

After a situation like this, if you take the approach of the victim you would probably complain, come up with a mental list of all the deficiencies the other department’s handling of the matter, and feel upset, irritated and angry at your co-workers. I have been a victim many times!

If instead, you decide to be a player you can recognize the actions you could have taken to possibly realize an outcome more consistent with your values. You would reflect upon:

- What was my response? I stayed up late to finish the proposal on time. I had other things to do during the day and I choose not to postpone them. I unconsciously choose to write the proposal after work hours.

- What was my goal? I wanted to get the contract related to the proposal that was prepared. I also wanted to not upset my family.
What values and principles would I like to guide my actions? I want to be honest and responsible. I want to be in charge of my decisions. I want to balance the demands of my family and my career.

- What were the negative consequences of my behavior? Primarily the stress and the resentment I felt, and the upset my family felt.

- What alternative action on my part would have been more effective to achieve success with integrity? I could have attempted to negotiate an extension of the deadline. Even if it could not have been changed, I would have felt more in control if I had voiced my concern. I could have declined the request for the proposal and/or asked for the help of a colleague to complete it. I should have better explained the situation to my family.

- How do I feel acting as a player in reviewing this situation? A lot better! I see how I can improve the outcome if this situation arises again.

Can you see how this type of awareness, this consciousness is the main source of unconditional success.…success beyond success … success defined as behaving in accordance with your values (versus winning at any cost)?

That’s the power of being a player and the main character of your life. Sure, it’s a little scary letting go of our protective blanket of blaming others & our self-image of perfection, but if you let go of those unsatisfying games and begin to play consciously you will grasp life more fully than you can ever imagine! May the conscious games begin.

(September 2008)
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