I am a big fan of Dr. Bob Rosen and his work at Healthy Companies^®. I am particularly impressed with his decades of research and the leadership models and insights he created. For leaders who have a firm grasp on the basics of management and leadership, understanding the benefits of becoming grounded and conscious—and then working to implement those capabilities—can help take their leadership practices to the next level.

Dion Leadership is partnering with Healthy Companies to deliver Dr. Rosen’s content to companies across the globe. I recently sat down with Dr. Rosen to discuss his views on today’s workplace, the challenges leaders face, and how they can rise above those challenges. An excerpt of our discussion follows.

In your view, why do we need very different kinds of leaders at all levels?

There is a set of common disruptors that are impacting organizations today. The first is speed. The pace of life and work is escalating. Second, uncertainty is reality. The world is constantly changing. Stability is an illusion. Next, doing business is more complex. Leaders have many more choices in how they approach their work. It has become more difficult to define and prioritize work. Technology, obviously, is a major disruptor. Less discussed but equally important, distrust and public scrutiny are fueled by 24/7 social media. Competition is fiercer than ever. How do you maintain a healthy bottom line and at the same time pursue a higher purpose and a vision? Lastly, globalization has connected markets, money, people, and customers. How do we succeed individually and at the same time sustain a healthy planet?

More recently, a combination of unique and unprecedented challenges has hit leaders: the post-pandemic workplace, geopolitical uncertainty, economic instability, political partisanship, diminishing trust, remote work, and climate change.

The challenge is that leaders are losing confidence in their ability to navigate through all this complexity. It is impacting their levels of stress and anxiety, leaving them in a constant state of burnout. This is not good for the leader, the people they lead, nor their company.

I’ve heard you say that leaders are operating in an old paradigm where what they do defines who they are. Can you explain the alternative?

A more holistic and healthy approach to leadership development is that who you are drives what you do. We need to spend much more time and attention on the “who you are” part of leadership development. This creates authentic, agile, and higher-performing leaders.

Your research identifies two core capabilities that will help leaders address today’s challenges. The first is being grounded. Can you explain what you mean by that?

Grounded is the foundation which helps leaders stay centered and resilient in the face of disruptive change. It’s your purpose, values, relationships, and character. I like to call them your six healthy roots: physical health, emotional health, intellectual health, social health, vocational health, and spiritual health. When people focus on the roots of who they are, they gain clarity about themselves and honesty about what they can accomplish. The result is leadership that is highly personal, deeply grounded, and strong enough to handle the pressures of relentless change.

And the second core capability that you uncovered in your research was being conscious. Can you explain that one?

Being conscious helps leaders think deeper, learn faster, and collaborate better. Our research shows that too many leaders are too stagnant in their progress, too shallow in their self-knowledge, too small in their perspective, and too safe in facing challenges. The more aware we are, the faster we adapt and accelerate, and the higher performing we become. Conscious leaders bring their best selves to the table, and they challenge others to redefine what it means to be successful. We have identified and teach four practices that effective leaders do to help you accelerate your daily consciousness.

Is this a model or program most relevant to senior leaders and C-suite executives?

Everyone benefits from becoming a more grounded and conscious leader—from CEOs and managers to frontline supervisors and individual contributors. People who are grounded (agile and solid) and conscious (aware and adaptive) have the strongest capacity for change. Organizations change one leader at a time. That is why we need change leaders at all levels.

It’s the collective power of leaders at all levels that drives engagement, innovation, profitable growth, and long-term value creation.

We have found an enterprise-wide approach can be a powerful source for closing the gaps and achieving individual and organizational change. Without a broad cross section of the organization involved in learning, any change effort is unlikely to survive. By infusing the grounded and conscious message throughout the organization, you create a common language and capability.

Ideally, you should start at the top of the organization. Bring in Dion Leadership to teach a one-day Grounded and Conscious leadership workshop as a way to raise awareness and begin the change process.

Tell me about the research that informs this work.

It is grounded through my academic studies as an organizational and clinical psychologist. My colleagues and I at Healthy Companies spent the last 35 years talking with CEOs and executives. With initial support of a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1990, we began an ongoing and in-depth journey studying healthy companies and global leadership. We conducted more than 600 one-on-one interviews with CEOs in 55 countries. This has culminated in a series of books, including the New York Times best seller Grounded, dozens of articles and white papers, and leadership talks. I am writing a new book on the ten attachments we have that create havoc in our lives.

Thanks, Bob. I really appreciate you spending some time with me today!

If you’d like to learn more about Grounded and Conscious Leadership, we’d like to offer you several additional resources to learn more about this advanced leadership program:

• Download the Grounded^® and Conscious: A New Leadership Imperative white paper from our Healthy Leader solutions website page.
• Check out our Grounded^® and Conscious leadership program brochure.
• Watch the recording of our Dion Leadership Grounded^® and Conscious webinar featuring guest presenter Bob Rosen.

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