Are you centered?

When you’re centered, you’re more effective in your practice of The Collaborative Way and you are more effective as a leader.

Susan McCann, a senior manager at Allan Myers, speaks to the interrelated relationship between being centered and the ability to powerfully bring forward your Collaborative Way practice:

“Centering, which I consider synonymous with being present, is such a powerful way to make sure you achieve your desired impact and outcome. The amazing thing about being centered, and specifically centered in what you are up to, is that it can impact all aspects of the practice of The Collaborative Way. When I am centered, I am a more focused listener because I have our end goal in mind. I am also more conscious about speaking straight, and calling out any obstacles in the way of achieving the goal. In practicing commitment management, I am more discerning about whether a specific task contributes to the goal, and more focused on making sure commitments that impact our success are met when I am centered. When centered, I am better at putting my ego away to fully support others by being for them. In addition, when someone contributes directly towards a defined goal and I am centered around that goal, I am excited about recognizing them for their specific contribution.”

Key to staying centered is knowing what you are “up to”. This includes being clear about your core values. If you’re not clear on either of these, it’s hard to center yourself. Conversely, the clearer you are, the easier it is to take aligned action towards what you want to accomplish.

It’s important to appreciate that it’s not always easy to stay centered, especially when the stakes are high.

Staying centered requires that you get good at recognizing when you are off center. This gives you the opportunity to regain your center rather than operating out of reactivity.

One way to regain your center is to take a few deep breaths and feel your feet on the floor. Often this simple move will be enough of a pause to re-center yourself. From here, it’s much easier to choose a course of action that will contribute to what you’re up to.

We’d love to hear what you do to re-center yourself when you’re thrown off. Please share below.

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