Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast #83 Aligned with Hortense le Gentil
"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken"
A great discussion with Hortense, summed up in this quote from Oscar Wilde. Hortense walks us through the journey of alignment and what connecting with your true self can bring to your leadership. Who are you as a leader ? Are you aligned ? How do you manage failure ?
We discuss not only the gifts of alignment, such as failure and intuition, but also the typical symptoms of misalignment and how to navigate this complex inner journey. The power of alignment in our individual selves and the power of collective alignment must be nurtured to navigate uncertainty, with leadership coming from the inside out - this ‘alignment of alignments’ then cascades down to show direction and give clear messages.
Hortense shares her insight, personal stories, experience and thought leadership on connecting with our true selves and the power of alignment for leadership from working with leaders all over the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- A good analogy for the feeling of alignment comes from show jumping – the feeling just before the jump, free to fly, not asking questions, having certainty in the moment; the opposite is misalignment - overreacting, blaming others and being aggressive.
- We tend to ‘normalise’ negative feelings rather than understand the symptoms of misalignment – we must be aware and careful of how we feel, and ultimately be the same person wherever we are and whatever we do.
- Wearing different hats at different times only ever represents part of our person, which is not authentic to ourselves or others; we likewise cannot separate ourselves from what happens to us and we should not have to hide from anything.
- Alignment is a process: the gift of failure provides an opportunity to learn from taking risks to adapt and innovate, and to evolve without being afraid – a good showjumper suffers 100 falls first and it is the same for leadership.
- We must reframe things positively: our brains are wired to see negativity, but we need positive energy to refuel and focus on what we can change, saving our energy for impactful actions to realign with positivity.
- Self-limiting beliefs must likewise be reframed: mind traps are a mental obstacle between you and who you want to be. Are you the main protagonist of your movie? Is it your voice? We must give ourselves permission to face the truth, change our mindset and listen to our intuition.
- ‘The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant’ (Einstein) -education nowadays is disproportionately about rationality but we need both: we must stop and free/empty our minds from other noise/voices, be present and feel emotions.
- Communication through stories and metaphors taps into the unconscious mind, helps us find answers and understand a picture, invites interest and is a light-hearted and amusing escape from the rational mind.
- David Hawkins’ Power vs. Force ranks emotions based on the impact they have on our life – power does not need force: one has heart and one doesn’t, which produces different results. This can also be applied to trust and communication in leadership (forcing something makes it happen but without harmony).
- Both the power of alignment in our individual selves and the power of collective alignment must be nurtured to navigate uncertainty, with leadership coming from the inside out - this ‘alignment of alignments’ then cascades down to show direction and give clear messages.
- With our world in transition, we are mid-ocean, and everyone must feel included on the ship: the captain need not give orders, just steer the course, give everyone a voice, listen more and talk less.
- Alignment is a gift that must be protected in choppy waters: this means having a daily rendezvous with yourself to clarify your purpose and exercise the muscle by reflecting - no blame, just alignment discipline.
- Remember to be yourself – everyone else is already taken! (Oscar Wilde)