How to use the power of the mind for transformation

In this article, I am exploring how the power of the mind can be harnessed to lead your team.  The conscious mind is selective.  If we don’t like something about ourselves or others, or we just don’t want to think about it, we can bury beliefs, ideas, thoughts and paradigms into our unconscious minds. This could sound very efficient on a level.  The information in our unconscious mind can still drive our behaviour.  This unconscious information, can,  if left,  undiscovered cause all kinds of mischief.

Individuals who are, developing self-awareness can identify those unhelpful buried beliefs, ideas and attitudes. Once identified, they help us to become more conscious of why we act in certain ways. They help us better understand ourselves.

The Creation of Organisational Culture

Organizational culture can form from hidden beliefs and ideas, often tackled through interventions. Training and competency development are typical, akin to battling addiction with rigid standards—often ineffective.

Harnessing the power of imagination, especially through visionary thinking, can effectively challenge these latent beliefs. Visionaries and intuitives excel at crafting compelling narratives, while logical minds rely on facts and evidence.

In organizations, the culture aligns with the tasks at hand. Detail-oriented, fact-driven work attracts like-minded individuals. You don’t need to be a psychologist to initiate positive change. These three steps guide transformative cultural shifts when embraced collectively.

1.  Discover the current organisational story

What does the team believe about the organisation?  Does the organisation have any defining stories which have helped shape the culture of today? Use focus groups, staff surveys and inquiry to piece together the collective view of the organisation by employees, customers, stakeholders, and anyone important in the making of that story.  Ask people to describe the organisation to you. What critical events, changes or decisions have made them draw those conclusions?  Ask them to describe successful characteristics and not-so-successful characteristics or decisions.  Once you have this information, you can determine how far away the perception of employees or customers is from where you would like it to be.

2.  Raise self-awareness by shining a light on any part of the story which might be holding the team back

A particular HR team I worked with had their role in the organisation changed from a regulatory, decision-making entity, to giving advice and options to help managers to make decisions.  A couple of years after this change, the team simply weren’t working well.  In a reflective focus group, it became apparent that even though the team were paying lip service to the new role, deep down the new role was resented and resisted.  Once this was unearthed, people were allowed to talk about the difference in status in a way they couldn’t at the time. Changes for the better came about quickly.  Determine what decisions or stories are holding your organisation back from embracing a brighter future.

3. Change the Story

Harnessing the power of imagination, develop a vision for the future.  Tell the story of the vision.  What will it look like, feel like, and sound like?  What will people be saying about the organisation in this imagined future? How will employees feel about working for the organisation?  These are just some of the questions you can use to describe the future you want to create.  Use feedback mechanisms to bring out doubts, limiting beliefs and different ideas, about the vision,  to the surface. Then find ways to strengthen belief, faith and patience about achieving the outcome.

What I have described is a simple methodology, using consciousness, self-awareness and imagination to change the culture of your team or organisation.

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I help leaders develop self- mastery, helping them to become confident in their own inner guidance.

I collaborate with leadership experts, managers and HR professionals to help them get their own message and unique services and products to a wide audience.