April 29, 2025

Leading with Higher Awareness: Unlocking Your Full Leadership Potential to Higher Levels of Service

Leading with Higher Awareness: Unlocking Your Full Leadership Potential to Higher Levels of Service

Most leadership books and experts only scratch the surface. Brian Cunningham takes us deeper, revealing how expanding your Awareness Quotient (AQ) transforms your leadership impact. Join us for a unique journey into higher service, personal growth,...

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Most leadership books and experts only scratch the surface. Brian Cunningham takes us deeper, revealing how expanding your Awareness Quotient (AQ) transforms your leadership impact. Join us for a unique journey into higher service, personal growth, and leadership mastery—from parking lot attendant to CEO, Brian's story and insights will elevate how you lead and live.

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions express in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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Radio or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments

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should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for

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choosing W FOURCY Radio.

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What's working on Purpose? Anyway? Each week we ponder the

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answer to this question. People ache for meaning and purpose

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at work, to contribute their talents passionately and know their

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lives really matter. They crave being part of an organization

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that inspires them and helps them grow into realizing their

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highest potential. Business can be such a force for good

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in the world, elevating humanity. In our program, we provide

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guidance and inspiration to help usher in this world we

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all want Working on Purpose. Now, here's your host, doctor

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Elise Cortez.

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Welcome back to the Working on Purpose program, which has

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been brought to you with passionate and pride since February

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of twenty fifteen. Thanks to tonading in this week. Great

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to have you. I'm your host, doctor Elise Cortes. If

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we have not met before and you don't know me,

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I'm an orkforce advisor, organizational psychologist, management consultant, local therapist,

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a speaker and author. My team and I at GUSTA

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now help companies to enliven and fortify their operations by

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building a dynamic high performance culture, inspirational leadership, and nurturing

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managers activated by meaning and purpose. And did you know

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that inspired employees have outperform their satisfied peers by a

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factor of two point twenty five to one. In other words,

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inspiration is good for the bottom line. You can learn

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more about us and how we can work together at

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Gusto dshnow dot com or my personal site at Leascortes

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dot com. Getting into today's program we have with us

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today Brian Cunningham, who has navigated a journey from a

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hospital parking lot attendant to CEO. He has studied the

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leadership followership dynamic at every level within a complex organization,

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and as a lifelong student of leadership and an explorer

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of numerous approaches to expanding our awareness. Brian has sought

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to uncover the larger possibilities of service as a leader,

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and most importantly, how to then integrate these discoveries into

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the day to day practice of leading in our increasing complexity.

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As an outcome of his years of real world experience,

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Brian has written three groundbreaking books that illuminate the keys

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to our natural progression into the highest levels of leadership service.

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We'll be talking to you about his latest book, Leadership

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The Universal Principles, and today we'll discuss the two universal

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principles that are foundational to our growth in leadership, end

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in life, and then touch on the ten levels of

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leadership he's discovered that are able to us to create

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our own unique path of leadership mastery. He joined today

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from Omaha, Nebraska. Brian, A hearty welcome to Working on Purpose.

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So good to see you. At least thank you here.

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As I said to you in our exchange, I am

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so wildly impressed with what you have done. Brian. You know,

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as you said before, I do read a lot of

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books cover to cover for this ten year podcast, and

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I have learned a lot about the perspectives as a

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result of that. But I will tell you that what

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you put in this book, Leadership the Universal Principles is

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so deep and dense yet accessible. I'm really impressed.

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Thank you so much. I mean so much coming from you.

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Thank you, Brian.

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Well, you know, you and I talked about this when

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we had our first conversation, but we have to really

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kind of start with this really titillating idea that you know,

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your own journey starts from being a parking a lot

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attended and somehow you found your way to the CEO

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of status for quite a few years. What happened.

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Yeah, So, you know, just like everybody else, you start

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out you're young and a little bit confused in life.

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But even at a young age, coming on my teens,

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I had this sort of yearning to discover purpose and

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meaning in life, and that was sort of the driver

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of everything that I was thinking and doing. And you know,

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I just sort of tripped into a job. My brother

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got me a job at this large hospital in Philadelphia,

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Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and my first job there I

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was a parking lot attendant and I can still park

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very well to this day, by the way, But what

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I discovered in that job in healthcare working in this

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large hospital, even though I was not even in the

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hospital that something was different in healthcare. The people that

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would come, the customers, so to speak, visitors, families, something

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was different. They were either coming there because they had

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a loved one, you know, who has had some trauma

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or illness, or a birth or a death. You know,

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the whole environment is infused by a different level of

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emotion of energy. And even in my young, confused self,

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I was picking up on this, like something's different. Later on,

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you know, I did pretty good as a parking lot attendant.

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I got my big promotion as an elevator operator, and

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then as a transport aid, wheeling patients around this massive hospital.

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You know, so many years as a transportologist, and then

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went back to school. I became a nuclear medicine technologist,

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but later went back as an occupational therapist. And along

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these years, I just want to emphasize everything I was

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seeing and learning was informed by this sort of yearning

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for meeting and purpose. And so I was reading, since

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you know, my late teens, about different indigenous cultures and

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the wisdom that they provide, and Eastern traditions and all

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these things. While I was trying to figure this out

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through the lens of being partner a lot of tendent transportologists,

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all these things, and so the growth was happening simultaneously.

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I was watching the leadership followership dynamic as I went

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along and questioning things going to school as an occupational therapist,

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you know, serendipitously right, Occupational things therapy has its foundations

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in meaning and purpose. They define occupations as meaningful activities,

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meaningful daily activities came out of the work with rehabilitating

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veterans in World War One and getting people back to

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doing doing occupations meaningful activity and so this was one

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of the parallels to the work that you're doing. And

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how you know, we have this connection so many years

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as an occupational therapist, right, and but you get still

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pulled along by life. You know, the intent of life

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is always moving towards greater complexity, greater opportunities to serve,

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and I connected with that. At some point I got

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an opportunity to move into hospital operations. Had moved out

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to the southwest up to New Mexico area and got

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into hospital operations and formal leadership positions and got really

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more clear about my purpose, which was to serve a

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lease right, that that simple thing that of us finally

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come to It took me too long to figure it out,

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but once I connected with it, you know, it was

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off to the races. And got inspired by our CEO

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at the time, John Rossfeld. He told me that in

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my job, I get to serve a lot of people.

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So I said, oh, then I want your job, and

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he said, okay, I'll help you.

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Right.

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So of course it's back to school again, all those things.

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And finally, after maybe you know, about thirty five years

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since I was doing parking lot attendant, I got the

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opportunity to serve as a hospital CEO in New Mexico

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and got the opportunity to, you know, now sort of

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deliver on all the things, all the reading, all the studies,

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all the school, all of the commitment to purpose, all

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of the real work. You know, I love the way

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you talk about it in your latest book. You still

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got to do your work. And so all that work,

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the being and doing of leadership and life came into

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play and we were fortunately with a great team able

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to move through some incredible challenges. Later, I got an

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opportunity to serve as a hospital CEO at a hospital

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in Hawaii, which I did for the last seven ish years,

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and again really incredible challenges but met by an incredible

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team of humans and were able to do some great

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things and ultimately resulted in the acquisition, the planned acquisition

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of that hospital by the largest hospital system in Hawaii,

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and that sort of brings us up to through just

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about the moment. So yeah, it was first sort of

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this synchronicity, right, getting pulled into this job and somewhat

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informed by my commitment to service, meaning and purpose and

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just keep moving forward. That's kind of how it goes.

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Well. It's celebration for that for sure. As you know,

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I as an organizational psychologist, as a workforce advisor, I

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believe in the power of work, and you're a walking

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testament to that.

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Right.

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That's why I chose to be in this field, because

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I believe in the wonder and the power and the

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nobility of work. And speaking of that, one of the

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things I thought we would be remissive we didn't talk

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about this on this show. Is one of our conversations.

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You told me about at least one of the major

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transformations that you got to help steward in a company

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that you led, and I think that's worth talking about,

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just if we can't just sort of touch on it

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so that people can kind of understand, you know, we're

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not just talking about stuff that you've researched and such.

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You've lived this, and you know the power of this

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being able to transform an organization. Which one do you

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want to talk about?

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You know, we can go to my last organization in

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why a hospital is extreme challenges, close to bankruptcy, a

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lot of infrastructure problems, But what they did have is

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a bunch of incredible committed people and healthcare that that

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starts from the you know, the environmental services people all

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the way up to nurses and physicians and of course

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the board in the community that supports all this. So,

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as you know, it takes a team to do anything

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in this complexity. And I was fortunate enough to be

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invited into that situation to help to serve to create

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an opportunity for us to create a sustainable pathway. And

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our only pathway was an acquisition by a larger organization,

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which proved to be quite challenging. When you're a struggling

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organization close to bankruptcy with lots of you know, capital

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infrastructure issues, very challenging but through the engagement with everybody

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on the team and through this larger organization after seven years,

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it took us right. COVID happened in the middle of

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all that and all those challenges, but it was through

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applying right this apply to whereeness, which we're going to

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talk about. It's nothing, nothing special that you do. It's

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how you do it and how you engage with everyone.

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It's not about some secret you know, tool or plan.

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You know, we got to do this or we got

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to do that. The plans are created through engagement with

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everybody involved. The plans kind of emerge to you over time,

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and through you know, practices and expanded awareness honed in

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the workplace itself, we're able to see these sort of

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subtle opportunities present themselves to us over time, and then

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we're able to step into them and engage with these

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opportunities and engage the people that is required to move

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these things forward. So it's a little bit you know,

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difficult to articulate because it was no secret, no special

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I'm not smarter, better, faster, quicker than anyone. It's this

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this lifelong commitment, this lifelong commitment to service and commitment

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to expanding awareness and working with the subtleties of the

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workplace beautiful.

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And I think as we go on here, as we

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talk about the concepts in your book, and then of

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course the levels leadership, some of the stuff will kind

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of get fleshed a little bit further as well. But

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I do want to start by in terms of the

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conceptual aspect of your book. The first universal principle of

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two is it all starts with awareness. So help us

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understand just a bit more, because you've written a big,

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very hefty book about this, help us understand just you know,

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concisely what do you mean by that?

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Sure, you know, as we're all attempting to simplify this

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complexity that we work in. What became clear to me

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over time is there is a couple universal principles that

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we can sort of anchor ourselves to. In the first one, right,

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that all starts and ends with our awareness period. Right,

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we know this Modern physics tells us this our own

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personal experience. Without awareness, there can be no sort of

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understanding of the stimuli that's coming in. So it all

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starts for awareness. Seems simple, but there's a lot of

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depth to it, a lot of breath and depth. So

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over time. After reading about awareness for quite literally thirty years,

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I still was not clear functionally what it was how

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to use it. So that became sort of my quest

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and my practice. I sat with awareness, staring at awareness.

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What is it? How does it work? What are the

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levers of it? And what emerged over time is really

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sort of some simple concepts, and that is our awareness

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is made up, represents our perceptual abilities as a human,

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our individuated awareness, and the levers of our awareness are

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our attention, our focus, and our intent. Our attention could

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be likened to a video camera right that we can

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point in any direction and hold, and when we exercise

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this over time, we are not pulled away. Our attentions

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are not pulled away by the latest shiny object or

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something out the window. Our attention is an extremely powerful

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element of our awareness and our ability to serve as

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a leader. Our focus. We could liken that to the

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lens of our video camera, right. We can zoom in

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and out or a wide angle, and the purpose of

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our focus is to extract further information from the scene

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of our attention. So our attention sort of frames a

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bundle of information and our focus then extracts even more

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gross and subtle information out of it. And the last

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lever is our intent, which is really the foundational impulse

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for all our being and doing in the world, and

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it sort of guides the use of our attention and focus.

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If we are not clear and connected with our core intent,

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we will just sort of go whichever way the wing

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blows or whatever way the predominant programming is dictating for us.

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So it was about clarifying first what awareness is functionally.

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Amazing incredibly well explained. Well, then that brings us and

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let's hit this before we take our first break. You

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are the uh, the awareness quotient guy, that is really

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you know, your camp, So help us understand what's an

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awareness quotient?

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Okay, great, great step. And you know, when I was

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dealing with awareness and I was talking about awareness in

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the workplace in this concept of AHU, I thought it

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was a thing at least.

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That you know, everybody knows this.

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Yeah, yeah, and intuition is a thing. So I was

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doing something. I was going to present something, so I

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decided to, you know, do a little research, and I

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could find nothing on awareness quotient and no books. There

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was a couple of little articles that were you know

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a little bit superficial at that time, so I said, well, okay,

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we're going to have to clarify this further, and so

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looking at it, working with it, what emerged me is

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that there are four key domains to our awareness quotient.

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Our awareness quotient, you know, if we were to put

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meaning to it, we could define it as the depth

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and breath and clarity of our awareness right applied to life.

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The four domains of our experience in life, which are

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our internal environment. Some people call this self awareness, but

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this is really much deeper, all of our thoughts, beliefs,

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you know, feelings, emotions, and the awareness out of which

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all that comes. And our external environment all the other

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people out there, our social constructs, our environment, our social institutions,

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our technologies. The third domain is the integration of these two.

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We know by experience that we can be really grounded

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in who we are and have a good understanding of

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our environment or industry specific environment, but that does not

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mean we'll be able to move groups forward. Our integration

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this domain is about how we dance with the world,

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how we connect with it, how we merge with it.

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And the fourth domain is the deeper purpose of life. Itself,

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and this is really sort of the foundation, the experiential

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foundation of our being and doing in the world. This

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provides us with the wisdom that informs the other domains.

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And interestingly, this domain can be approached through the lens

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of science, or religion, or spirituality or different cultures. You know,

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it's interesting that the deeper purpose of life does not

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care what we call it or how we access it.

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And you know what, neither do the people that we

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serve care about these things. So this is you know,

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it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of

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when we connect with this deeper purpose that further informs

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these domains. And so our AQ is really sort of

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the functional application, or we could call it applied awareness.

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Is a short definition of what our AQ is, and

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once we understand the domains of impact, we can then

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apply it to anything in life, our hobbies, sports, right,

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and of course leadership, and that's where this connection then

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comes to.

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Be so much richness. Brian, let's let our listeners and

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viewers too on that as we talk about this. I

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think most people have a very fundamental, basic understanding awareness,

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and you have just opened it up into a whole

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different set of possibilities. I'm your host, doctor Luise Cortez.

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We run the air with Brian Cunningham, who has served

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as CEO for numerous medical centers and hospitals. We've been

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talking about his own history of his career and how

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he got to the place where he was, and then

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we're starting to talk about the foundations inherent in his work.

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We'll be right back.

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Doctor Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author, she helps companies

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visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

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leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

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commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

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a lease to speak to your organization, please visit her

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at elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

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your employees working on purpose. This is working on Purpose

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with doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today or

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to open a conversation with Elise, send an email to

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Alise A Lisee at elisecortes dot com. Now back to

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working on Purpose.

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Thanks for stating with us, and welcome back to working

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on Purpose. I'm your host, doctor Elise Cortes, as I

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am dedicated to help them create a world or organizations

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thrive because they're people thrive. They're led by inspirational leaders

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that help them find and contribute their greatness. And we

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do business at Betters in the World. So I keep

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researching and writing my own books. One of my latest

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came out that Brian's talking about is called The Great Revitalization.

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How activating meaning and purpose can ratically in live in

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your business. And I roder to help leaders understand the

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lay of today's workforce land what do they want and

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need from you to be able to want to give

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their best and stick around? And then they offer twenty

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two best practices to equip you to provide that sort

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of a culture so that they will do just that.

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You can find my books on Amazon or my personal

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site at least quartest dot com if you are just

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now joining us. My guest is Brian Cunningham, who has

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written a trilogy of groundbreaking books on leadership, including his

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latest Leadership Universal Principles. So we could talk about all

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four of those domains, but for times sake, we don't

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really have all that much time, and I do want

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to talk about the leadership ones, but the one you

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know I have to talk about is the deeper purpose itself.

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So can we dive a little bit deeper into that one?

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As you and i've spoken about before, and you even

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said on your own path in both of us share this.

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We have both been fascinated by meaning and purpose and

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we're not alone in this quest.

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Yes, And you know, as you very well know, this

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is the question behind most of the questions in our lives.

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And you know in mind, in yours and everybody's whether

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it's it's spoken or unspoken, conscious or unconscious, that's the

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question beneath the question. So we can ignore it, you know,

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as long as we want in life, but at some

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point it's going to become important to it. You know,

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life has a way of pulling it drawing us into it.

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So at some point it will find an access point

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that helps us to to sort of enter into this

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exploration of of you know, what the deeper purpose of

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life is, what the deeper meaning for life is for us,

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and it will present to us in our own way.

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Once again, the deeper purpose of life itself does not

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care what we call it or how we connect with it,

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and once we do, our life takes on a whole

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other level of meaning. Our leadership takes on a whole

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level of new meaning, our service to the world takes

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on a whole another level. Comes that sort of the

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anchor and the you know, the the energy source right

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for everything we do. It's that important, it's critical.

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I love it. Now I really want to dive into

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the second universal principle, and I think it's going to

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relate to what you were seeing before about being pulled.

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My own experience as I've gone along is that I

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have felt compelled by things, especially meaning and purpose. I mean,

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it's like got me around the throat and it's pulling

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me a long kind of thing. It wasn't this subtle

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little thing. It was like, you know, hit over the

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head kind of thing. So your second universal principle is

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all life unfolds along a natural development progression. Now that

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word unfolds is also interesting to me. I discovered it

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when I was researching meaning and work and identity, that

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idea of unfolding. I've discovered that many people are not

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familiar with the idea of unfolding. So expand on this idea,

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if you would, of the second universal principle.

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Yes, got it. So once we understand the first universal

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principle and we start to look around with awareness, we

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see the obvious. This everywhere around us. You know, all

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life unfolded right quite literally, acorns turning into oak, trees, right,

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flowers the way they unfold, the way that you know

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tadpoles unfold grow into frogs. Right. Our own human development

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grows along similar lines our educational systems. You don't get

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you know, your PhD. You can't go to kindergarten and

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then PhD work. There's an unfoldment, there's a learning, a growth,

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all experiential and so sports is the same. You start

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out at these different levels. So we can see it everywhere.

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Accept leadership. In leadership, right, you do your job and

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then one day somebody says you're the leader now, and

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maybe you take some classes, maybe you go to school,

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but that in no way prepares you developmentally for this

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highly complex, dynamic activity. So this unfoldment is part of nature.

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We see it everywhere. And I was just it struck

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me one day, everywhere except for leadership. So as I

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applied my awareness right through the tools of our AQ,

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the AQ method right observing, discerning, and then applying the

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insights that were coming out of these purposeful observations. Right,

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you see what emerges to you out of the background

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is all of these different levels or expressions of leadership.

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We can also see that they're tied directly to our

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level of awareness. Right, this stuff is not separate. We

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can only grow as a leader to the degree that

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we are growing in awareness. So this is what I

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was seeing, this unfoldment, and as I sort of applied

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it to leadership, what started to emerge out of the

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background is the developmental progression itself, as it exists in

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education and sports and every other hobby. So I could see,

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you know, these these more limited expressions of leadership, like

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authoritarian leadership that we all know, all have experience with,

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and I could see its limitations in an increasingly complex world.

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And then what a more expanded expression was, and most importantly,

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how to make that leap and how to support others,

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at least in real time using the workplace itself as

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the tool for transformation. You need to talk about that

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in your book. This is the playground. The work itself

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has inherent meaning, and when we connect with that, we

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can use it for our own and our group transformation,

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and that's where what unfolded to me was this developmental

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progression from level one authoritarian leadership all the way up

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through transformational leadership, service leaders servant leadership all the way

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up to this concept of unified leadership level ten, this

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experience with oneness and wholeness expressed through our service to

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others in the realities of our day to day work.

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So that's how it sort of came together and able

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to articulate and sort of detail these so that they're

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reproducible and workable every day in the workplace.

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Yeah, I got to say, Brian, you know, I was

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merely enjoying, you know, the conceptual part of your book,

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the first part, and then I thought that this is

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pretty cool, and then I encountered these ten levels and

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I was really blown away. And I think there's so

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much utility in being able to see one, to recognize,

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you know, what are the general characteristic characteristics of that level,

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and how does it actually serve and how do you

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actually get to the next level. So as much as

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we have time, I'd love to get through all of them,

463
00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:39.640
because i'd love our listeners and viewers who one try

464
00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:42.960
to identify where they think they are themselves today, two

465
00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:45.599
who they might have reported to as we go through

466
00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.160
each one of these, and three where what they really

467
00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:50.480
aspire to go. I know they need to unfold into

468
00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:52.480
the next. But so let's talk a little bit more

469
00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:56.359
deeply about the level one authoritarian leadership. What are the characteristics?

470
00:26:56.359 --> 00:26:57.480
How would somebody recognize?

471
00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:00.359
That's the lot And as a precursor, to be clear,

472
00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:03.839
we have all performed at all ten levels. These are

473
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:08.200
not exclusive only for the chosen few. We all have

474
00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:12.240
performed at all levels. We know authoritarian leadership very well,

475
00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:15.319
at least because we've done it, we've handled it, we've

476
00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.680
expressed it, so we all have experience. The question is

477
00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:22.359
where are we grounded as a leader, especially in times

478
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:25.599
of challenge? What is our default? So with that, if

479
00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:29.400
your default is a level one authoritarian leadership, we know

480
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.200
this very well. It is all about command and control.

481
00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:36.119
That's how you find meaning and purpose in the world, right,

482
00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:39.160
That's your comfort zone, That's how you express your power.

483
00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:43.359
So there's all of these growth and subtle expressions of

484
00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:46.880
this really ruled by emotion, and that emotion is typically

485
00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:50.279
fear in all of its expressions, and that's how we

486
00:27:50.359 --> 00:27:54.720
attempt to move things forward. Now, authoritarian leaders can still

487
00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:57.519
get results, they can still move things forward, they can

488
00:27:57.559 --> 00:27:59.880
still make money and you know, be famous all that,

489
00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:03.119
but they tend to leave a trail of bodies wherever

490
00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:06.440
they go and upset and frustrated people. And in an

491
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:11.000
increasingly complex world, it's becoming less and less of a

492
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:18.079
you know, of an allowable expression of leadership. So once

493
00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:20.000
we understand that, we have to say, okay, how do

494
00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:22.559
we move beyond it and to your work?

495
00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:22.759
Right?

496
00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.839
First, we got to do our work. We need to

497
00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:28.200
get clear about our attachment to the need for control,

498
00:28:28.440 --> 00:28:31.519
our programming around that, and begin to move beyond that.

499
00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:34.759
We have to do some work, and that work, you know,

500
00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.000
we've talked about these attachments in these chapters and how

501
00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:42.119
we move beyond them through the real work of the workplace. Right,

502
00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:44.519
we don't have to go out for a retreat. Their fund,

503
00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:47.160
by the way, very valuable, but we can use the

504
00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:51.480
workplace and simply reaching out to other people and engaging

505
00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:55.000
with them for their support their opinion. Right, Because as

506
00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:58.119
an authoritarian leader, it's my way or the highway. It's

507
00:28:58.119 --> 00:29:02.359
based on my experience, understanding and the simple act of

508
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:05.839
forcing ourselves to reach out to others, starts to break

509
00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:07.920
that up for us, and then we're in a position

510
00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:10.559
to support others in doing the same thing in a

511
00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:15.279
meeting in real time. So there's sort of the authoritarian leadership.

512
00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:18.480
There's a lot of predominant characteristics. There's thousands of them

513
00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:21.960
based in the need for control and the emotion of fear.

514
00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:26.319
Okay, very well explained, and our leader listeners and viewers

515
00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:28.200
can kind of understand if that's where they are, if

516
00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.480
they're boss, is that way or etc. So let's move

517
00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:34.720
on to level too, which is evidence based leadership, got it?

518
00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:38.240
And remember and authoritarian leaders aren't necessarily bad, that's just

519
00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:41.839
their limitation in their ability to serve. However, as we

520
00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:44.839
start to reach out to others and utilize the up

521
00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:48.279
leveling strategies, one of which is very simply to do

522
00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:53.720
some additional research to clarify the problem. Through some research, research,

523
00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:59.039
as you know, expands your awareness, your understanding. That simple

524
00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:03.440
act automatically moves you into this next level of leadership.

525
00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:07.119
The work does the work for us, does the heavy lifting,

526
00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:11.400
and so evidence based leadership comes out of the information age, right,

527
00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:14.759
all of the data and information and best practices when

528
00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:19.359
we utilize those right based in logic. Authoritarian leadership based

529
00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:23.680
in emotion fear, evidence based leadership based in logic, intellect,

530
00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:29.240
utilizing data, information, best practices to determine the best course

531
00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:33.519
of action forward and of course very popular approach in

532
00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:38.640
our complexity to doing that. However, evidence based leadership also

533
00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:43.400
has its limitations that we must understand. Since it's grounded

534
00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:47.640
in logic, and since it's so closely related to authoritarian leadership,

535
00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:51.640
there's still there's still an element of control, only we

536
00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:55.759
express it through our need to be right. As an

537
00:30:55.799 --> 00:30:58.880
evidence based leadership, I am so well researched, I'm so

538
00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:03.440
smart police. That's how I will utilize that to control you.

539
00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:06.960
Our power as an evidence based leadership is through persuasion.

540
00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:13.000
We use data, information, right, selective data and information to

541
00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:17.440
maintain our control. And so it's that limitation, that attachment

542
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:19.559
to the need to be right that holds us in

543
00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:22.920
place and limits the experience of everybody we serve.

544
00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:27.319
Lust to chew on. Let's let our listeners and viewers

545
00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:29.359
chew on that as well and can start to consider

546
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:31.279
where they might be or who they know in that space.

547
00:31:31.559 --> 00:31:34.319
We'll rever last break I'm your host, doctor Earli's Cortez.

548
00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:36.559
We've been on here with Brian Cunningham, who has served

549
00:31:36.599 --> 00:31:39.599
as CEO for numerous medical centers and hospitals. We've been

550
00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:42.480
getting into his leadership levels. There are ten of them

551
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:45.079
that he's discovered. We've covered two after the Marik, we'll

552
00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:46.480
try to get through all of the rest eight.

553
00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:47.319
We'll be right back.

554
00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:06.359
Doctor Elise Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

555
00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:10.240
and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author, she helps companies

556
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:14.119
visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

557
00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:18.160
leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

558
00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:21.480
commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

559
00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:24.480
Elise to speak to your organization, please visit her at

560
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:27.720
elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get your

561
00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:36.559
employees working on purpose. This is working on Purpose with

562
00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:39.839
doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today or to

563
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:43.000
open a conversation with Elise, send an email to Elise

564
00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:48.640
A Lise at elisecortes dot com. Now back to working

565
00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:49.400
on Purpose.

566
00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:56.119
Thanks for sting with us, and welcome back to working

567
00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:59.039
on Purpose. I'm your host doctor release Cortes. I mentioned

568
00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:00.640
an a last break that one of my books came

569
00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:03.279
out recently. It's called a Great Vitalization. What he did

570
00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:05.480
for you is I created a very simple three page

571
00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:08.119
assessment that you can pull off my site Gusto Dashnel

572
00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:10.680
dot com and it will help you ascertain the extent

573
00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:13.119
to which your organizacial culture is meeting the needs of

574
00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:16.880
today's discerning workforce. You can find it again at gustodashnew

575
00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:19.319
dot com if you are just now joining us. My

576
00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:21.559
guest is Brian Cunningham, who has written a trilogy of

577
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:25.119
groundbreaking books on leadership, including his latest which is called

578
00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:28.799
Leadership the Universal Principles. So those first two levels were

579
00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:31.279
so beautifully explained and so easy for us to understand

580
00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:35.559
where we might be. Let's keep going. Number three coaching leadership.

581
00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:37.079
Got it, And they're so easy to understand because they

582
00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:41.480
represent the status quo of leadership across the planet. Okay, interesting,

583
00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:45.000
the way beyond the status quo the up leveling steps.

584
00:33:45.400 --> 00:33:48.319
One of the main ones is to clarify our purpose

585
00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:50.960
at least right it comes into play at this point,

586
00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:54.039
and as we clarify our purpose and connect with that,

587
00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:59.279
we are naturally moved into expanded into our awareness, expands

588
00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:02.680
into coaching leadership. It's not something we do. It's an

589
00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:05.519
expression of who we are becoming, who are how we

590
00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:10.199
unfold into it. So, whereas authoritarian leadership is leadership through

591
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:14.760
command and control, and evidence based is through persuasion of

592
00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:19.000
data information, coaching leadership is leadership through guidance with an

593
00:34:19.159 --> 00:34:24.119
understanding of the knowledge that it takes for the right

594
00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:27.880
use of the data and information that we are accumulating. So,

595
00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:30.400
as a coach leader, our goal is to understand the

596
00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:33.960
environment and the teams and the people that we work with.

597
00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:37.719
To a coaching leader, it's our team that are the

598
00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:42.440
most important. Our power as an authoritarian leader comes through

599
00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:46.679
our control, evidence based our ability to be right. Our

600
00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:51.320
power as a coaching leadership comes through empowering others. And

601
00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:53.599
so this is where people feel like they're part of

602
00:34:53.639 --> 00:34:57.440
something larger in life. This involves the art and science

603
00:34:57.519 --> 00:35:02.079
of adapting our teams to the environs pacific environmental challenges,

604
00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:07.360
and so coaching leadership is that natural evolution still limited.

605
00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:10.320
Though as good as it is right, there's still limitations.

606
00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:14.239
And we might say that coaching leadership connects right and

607
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:19.519
left hemispheres or holistic aspect of the mind and applies

608
00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:23.079
that in a systems based way. Right we understand the parts,

609
00:35:23.239 --> 00:35:26.079
how they all fit together, and can sort of connect

610
00:35:26.119 --> 00:35:29.239
with them and leverage them. But using the mind, we

611
00:35:29.320 --> 00:35:32.840
discover at some point limits our ability to serve. Using

612
00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:36.079
the mind as our singular tool for changer, transformation has

613
00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:40.440
its limitations, and so the up leveling strategies help us

614
00:35:40.440 --> 00:35:44.119
to move beyond those We consider that intended and unintended

615
00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:48.960
consequences of our challenges, and most importantly, we begin to

616
00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:52.039
understand that, you know, just as our IQ, our industry

617
00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:55.159
IQ has been so important to our success, there's this

618
00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:57.880
EQ you know, this thing in our chest, our heart,

619
00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:02.000
and this connection that once we connect to our own heart,

620
00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:04.239
we're in a position to connect with the hearts and

621
00:36:04.280 --> 00:36:08.519
minds of others. And this is what creates a transformational experience.

622
00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:12.320
You can change things at level three, but in order

623
00:36:12.360 --> 00:36:16.400
to transform, to step into transformational leadership level four, we

624
00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:18.920
need to connect mind with heart to connect with others.

625
00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:24.920
Change makes things different, but transformation makes us different. That

626
00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:28.719
requires our connection to our heart. So that'll lead us

627
00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:33.840
right into level four transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is about

628
00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:37.199
leadership through connection, connection to mind and heart, as we

629
00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:40.280
just spoke about, and it's based on our ability to

630
00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:44.400
clarify these connections, to create genuine connections with other with

631
00:36:44.480 --> 00:36:47.559
the others on our team, right, so that we can

632
00:36:47.639 --> 00:36:51.039
engage others in their best effort. At each level, we're

633
00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:55.000
able to draw people those we serve into a larger

634
00:36:55.159 --> 00:36:59.800
experience of themselves. So it's not just about us starting

635
00:36:59.800 --> 00:37:03.159
to levitate as a leader something like that. It's how

636
00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:06.800
we engage everybody so that they can step into their

637
00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:10.440
you know, their next level of expression for themselves. We

638
00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:13.920
help then clarify their purpose. We help our team connect

639
00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:16.440
with the purpose of the work, and this is what

640
00:37:16.599 --> 00:37:21.599
creates another level of engagement for us. So transformational leadership

641
00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:25.039
engages you know, the hearts and minds of everybody we serve.

642
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:31.280
And yet there are limitations to transformational leadership. Right. You

643
00:37:31.320 --> 00:37:35.400
can do some great things connect transform, but there's more

644
00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:38.480
out there. There's this wider time frame that we need

645
00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:42.119
to understand. There's there's a larger sort of expression of

646
00:37:42.199 --> 00:37:45.960
wisdom waiting to come through. So once we realize this

647
00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:48.840
and realize sort of the limitations and this sort of

648
00:37:50.159 --> 00:37:54.000
attachment to sort of short term gains immediate gratification. We

649
00:37:54.119 --> 00:37:57.280
start to let go of that and consider sort of

650
00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:01.199
how all of our macro and micro actions and interactions

651
00:38:01.440 --> 00:38:04.960
are connected over a wider timeframe. As a leader, we

652
00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:08.800
need to create more sustainable results in complexity, and this

653
00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:12.239
is where we start to emerge into our awareness expands

654
00:38:12.239 --> 00:38:15.639
into the next expression of leadership service, and that is

655
00:38:15.719 --> 00:38:21.239
level five servant leadership. See servant leadership is or transformational

656
00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:23.639
leadership either. You just can't read a book on it.

657
00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:27.079
I mean, servant leadership came out in the seventies, So

658
00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:31.719
everybody's not a servant leader by now. And it's because

659
00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:35.119
there's a developmental progression to get there that is not

660
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:39.039
well articulated in the literature or in the experience or

661
00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:43.719
training programs of many leadership approaches. But through this natural

662
00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:48.239
developmental progression, using the real work of leadership, we unfold

663
00:38:48.280 --> 00:38:52.639
into it. We find ourselves deeply connected to our ability

664
00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:56.280
to serve servant leadership. Another way to define it would

665
00:38:56.280 --> 00:39:02.119
be leadership through clarity of visioning these connections over a

666
00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:07.320
longer period, a longer timeframe, understanding the cause and effect

667
00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:11.119
relationship of everything we think and say and do and

668
00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:14.719
being able to integrate that into a basic project in

669
00:39:14.760 --> 00:39:19.159
the workplace in real time, and to pull people into

670
00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:24.519
a larger dialogue about the intended and unintended consequences of

671
00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:28.840
our planned actions over a wider timeframe. So this is

672
00:39:28.920 --> 00:39:34.079
grounded in the real work of creating sustainability. So that's

673
00:39:34.119 --> 00:39:38.719
the unfoldment through the first five levels, and obviously servant

674
00:39:38.800 --> 00:39:43.079
leadership very high level of service. And another key point

675
00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:46.360
about the developmental progression is, as you know, it's not

676
00:39:46.599 --> 00:39:50.519
levels stacked on one another. It's like an expanding ball.

677
00:39:50.920 --> 00:39:55.559
So each level incorporates everything from the previous level. It

678
00:39:55.679 --> 00:39:59.559
builds on itself, just like our experience as humans or

679
00:39:59.679 --> 00:40:04.559
in education, everything builds on itself. So as a servant leader,

680
00:40:04.719 --> 00:40:09.000
we have access to all of the previous approaches to leadership,

681
00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:13.679
yet we express them in a way that doesn't create

682
00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:16.760
We can still be directive as a servant leader. It's

683
00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:20.039
not wishy washy, it's not you know, it is a

684
00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:26.440
very strong stance as a leader grounded in service and connection. Right,

685
00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:30.000
we can still give clear direction, but without the need

686
00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:34.239
to dominate somebody or belittle them, you know. So it

687
00:40:34.400 --> 00:40:38.159
looks and feels completely different than the than the direction

688
00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:42.320
given by an authoritarian leader. So there's one through five.

689
00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:46.800
If we if we develop across these levels, we are

690
00:40:46.840 --> 00:40:50.719
in a really good position to do amazing things in

691
00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:55.320
service to our people and our organizations. And yet it

692
00:40:55.480 --> 00:41:00.079
kept unfolding for me, I kept seeing further expressions.

693
00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:00.599
Keep going.

694
00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:02.960
I'll want need to say this first. What I so

695
00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:05.800
appreciate about your work Brian, and that excites me down

696
00:41:05.840 --> 00:41:07.400
to my last tone in all the back twenty seven

697
00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:10.320
thousand times, is that it just for me in my

698
00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:13.440
work of helping to catalyze leaders to their highest best

699
00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:17.039
service and to be able to develop organizations that are

700
00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:20.400
vibrant and thriving. I'm so excited to see that there

701
00:41:20.440 --> 00:41:22.960
is so much that we can unfold into as humans,

702
00:41:23.039 --> 00:41:26.480
and that is just gets me. Keep going. Number six

703
00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:28.159
dental leadership.

704
00:41:28.559 --> 00:41:31.079
Yeah, so the attachment that then holds us as a

705
00:41:31.079 --> 00:41:33.679
servant leader, which is an amazing place to be held up.

706
00:41:34.320 --> 00:41:36.960
But there's more. At some point you're getting pulled what

707
00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:40.880
else is next? And so you know, the attachment that

708
00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:44.159
we usually experience at this point is this attachment to

709
00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:47.480
what we think we know, even in our wisdom, we

710
00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:50.079
can get attached to that, and as we begin to

711
00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:53.159
release that, as we begin to consider sort of these

712
00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:57.639
larger wise behind the wise, we just quite naturally move

713
00:41:57.679 --> 00:42:00.840
into the next level of leadership expression, and that is

714
00:42:01.119 --> 00:42:05.840
this concept of transcendental leadership, right, leadership through direct insight,

715
00:42:06.320 --> 00:42:10.360
where we're transcending even what we think we know and

716
00:42:10.440 --> 00:42:19.079
moving into this really purposeful exploration of reality and possibility.

717
00:42:19.360 --> 00:42:22.119
We're no longer trying to solve problems. We are looking

718
00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:27.199
at possibilities. And so this is an approach to leadership

719
00:42:27.719 --> 00:42:31.800
that is very grounded in creating the potential futures of

720
00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:35.920
our organization and the potentials of everybody that we serve.

721
00:42:36.599 --> 00:42:38.960
So it grounds us in this direct insight, we can

722
00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:43.599
clearly understand very deeply the why behind the why of

723
00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:48.320
many on our teams are projects, the goals and objectives

724
00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:52.320
of the organization, the strategic plans, and again address things

725
00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:56.519
and more expanded perspective. So I'm just going to keep rolling.

726
00:42:56.559 --> 00:42:57.760
You stop me at any time?

727
00:42:58.239 --> 00:42:58.519
Got this?

728
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:01.480
You got might go at some point, Right, we feel

729
00:43:01.480 --> 00:43:04.440
the limitation of even this transcending of what we think

730
00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:08.159
we know, and we come up against very often this

731
00:43:08.320 --> 00:43:12.360
illusion of separation. Right, we have to tackle this at

732
00:43:12.400 --> 00:43:15.159
some point. Some do it earlier, but at some point

733
00:43:15.159 --> 00:43:19.719
it will happen. And through this, this engaging with all

734
00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:23.360
of the ambiguity and all this complexity, we are just

735
00:43:23.519 --> 00:43:27.199
moved into this requirement of connecting with others in order

736
00:43:27.239 --> 00:43:30.199
to accomplish things. This starts to move us beyond this

737
00:43:30.280 --> 00:43:34.079
illusion of separation and into level seven, which I term,

738
00:43:34.199 --> 00:43:37.880
you know, mystic leadership. You'll see that term out there.

739
00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:39.920
I don't know that it'll be defined this way. But

740
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:43.719
this is leadership through direct experience. This is not about

741
00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:46.599
talking to people about what it's about. This is not

742
00:43:46.679 --> 00:43:49.440
about you know, setting out the plans and this three steps.

743
00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:54.760
This is about creating direct experiences with ourselves and others,

744
00:43:55.760 --> 00:44:02.320
in creating possibility from this seemingly impossible right. So much

745
00:44:02.320 --> 00:44:05.760
in our complexity these days, it's like what we never

746
00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:08.000
had to deal with that before. There's nothing in the

747
00:44:08.079 --> 00:44:10.519
in the you know, the handbook about this. How do

748
00:44:10.519 --> 00:44:14.800
we deal with this, these these seemingly impossible situations, And

749
00:44:14.920 --> 00:44:18.639
through this expansion of our awareness, we learn through experience

750
00:44:18.679 --> 00:44:21.880
how to step into that. It's very common in leadership

751
00:44:21.920 --> 00:44:25.000
to be comfortable with ambiguity. Every leader says they're comfortable

752
00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:29.320
in ambiguity until they're in ambiguity and watch things start

753
00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:32.440
to crumble and they default to, you know, wherever their

754
00:44:32.519 --> 00:44:37.079
default level is. But as a mystic leader, we become comfortable, energized,

755
00:44:37.320 --> 00:44:41.079
excited about the unknown. You know, we're drawn to these

756
00:44:41.159 --> 00:44:45.039
projects that others run away from and we're drawn into them.

757
00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:49.480
We're drawn in to serve there, to see, to look at,

758
00:44:49.559 --> 00:44:52.679
stare at the subtleties of life. You know, life is

759
00:44:52.960 --> 00:44:57.679
always speaking to us, sharing information with us. The universe

760
00:44:57.760 --> 00:45:01.760
is made of information, energy, and it's always presenting itself

761
00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:04.280
and the deeper we sort of work with this, it

762
00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:07.800
starts to emerge these little sort of snippets of insight

763
00:45:08.119 --> 00:45:10.679
that we can then start to connect these dots. So

764
00:45:10.719 --> 00:45:15.000
it's a very practical approach to working in really challenging

765
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:19.239
situations and working with people to clarify the path forward

766
00:45:19.480 --> 00:45:23.960
and move in that direction. And then we come up against,

767
00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:26.760
you know, an opportunity. We feel the poll there's more

768
00:45:26.840 --> 00:45:31.840
waiting for us, you know, we can sense these larger possibilities.

769
00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:34.920
We also sense this common experience of leadership where we

770
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:39.280
downplay what leaders are really doing the value of it, right,

771
00:45:39.320 --> 00:45:41.679
it's always about the team, it's always about somebody else,

772
00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:45.280
and that has a purpose to it to stand up

773
00:45:45.320 --> 00:45:48.719
our teams right first and foremost. But at some point,

774
00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:51.840
as we're starting to work with other leaders to help

775
00:45:51.920 --> 00:45:54.639
them to step into the larger expression of themselves, we

776
00:45:54.719 --> 00:45:58.199
need to be really clear and honest about these larger possibilities.

777
00:45:58.559 --> 00:46:01.719
And as we go about that process, we move into

778
00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:05.440
this next level, level eight awakened leadership. And this is

779
00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:09.360
viewing leadership as a genuine path to awakening as a

780
00:46:09.440 --> 00:46:14.199
human being. Right, the challenges of leadership, they're all in there, right,

781
00:46:14.239 --> 00:46:17.719
all of these paths to awakening from Eastern and Western

782
00:46:17.840 --> 00:46:22.000
sort of religious and spiritual approaches. It's all in the workplace.

783
00:46:22.239 --> 00:46:25.039
It's all in the daily challenges. This is where the

784
00:46:25.119 --> 00:46:29.159
real work occurs. So we can see it and experience

785
00:46:29.199 --> 00:46:32.480
it as a path to awakening and start to articulate

786
00:46:32.880 --> 00:46:36.320
the fundamentals of leadership and the possibilities in a way

787
00:46:36.719 --> 00:46:40.199
that others who are on this journey and passionate about

788
00:46:40.280 --> 00:46:43.840
service can connect with and say, oh, okay, I see

789
00:46:44.119 --> 00:46:46.960
and it sort of calls them, pulls them into a

790
00:46:47.079 --> 00:46:52.159
larger version, larger expression of themselves in service. And so

791
00:46:52.440 --> 00:46:59.079
this is the expression of level eight, awakened leadership. We

792
00:46:59.199 --> 00:47:02.320
are able to articulate complexity in a way that others

793
00:47:02.320 --> 00:47:06.960
can connect with. And then we are pulled and pulled

794
00:47:07.360 --> 00:47:10.320
and we feel at some point well, as we're working

795
00:47:10.760 --> 00:47:14.000
along this path of awakening, that there are these challenges

796
00:47:14.360 --> 00:47:20.760
imposed by social constructs right, our social institutions that we

797
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:24.119
are held to and working within, and at some point

798
00:47:24.199 --> 00:47:27.840
we begin to see them for what they are, that oh, yes,

799
00:47:27.960 --> 00:47:30.880
we work in them, but we are not bound by them.

800
00:47:31.159 --> 00:47:33.639
We need to understand them, we need to respect them,

801
00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:36.119
but we see them for what they really are, which

802
00:47:36.159 --> 00:47:39.960
is really sort of our collective search for meaning, right,

803
00:47:40.199 --> 00:47:42.239
so that we can bring meaning to the chaos of

804
00:47:42.280 --> 00:47:45.679
the world. But they can bind us at some point

805
00:47:45.920 --> 00:47:48.159
we can't do that. We can't think about that, and

806
00:47:48.239 --> 00:47:51.039
that's not the way I was taught. Well, once again,

807
00:47:51.079 --> 00:47:53.880
we can respect that, we can understand it, and we

808
00:47:53.920 --> 00:47:56.119
can at the same time move beyond it. And the

809
00:47:56.199 --> 00:48:00.280
next level then is this concept of integrated leadership level nine,

810
00:48:00.519 --> 00:48:02.719
and this is leadership through active presence.

811
00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:06.440
We've got like thirty seconds for this so forth presence.

812
00:48:06.199 --> 00:48:09.679
Right, and our ability to work with reality as it's

813
00:48:09.760 --> 00:48:13.840
emerging unfolding when we work with reality as it's unfolding.

814
00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:17.559
We're in a better position to sort of influence movement forward,

815
00:48:17.760 --> 00:48:22.159
which leads us into this experience, unified leadership, the oneess

816
00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:25.920
with everybody and that expression of service to others. That's

817
00:48:25.920 --> 00:48:26.679
the short version.

818
00:48:27.079 --> 00:48:29.880
Oh, Brian, that was amazing, What a journey. I feel

819
00:48:29.920 --> 00:48:32.079
like I need to sleep now. It was so much.

820
00:48:32.599 --> 00:48:34.760
I'm so grateful to know you, Brian, my friend, and

821
00:48:34.920 --> 00:48:37.079
be to be elevated by you, to learn from you,

822
00:48:37.119 --> 00:48:39.000
to share with my listeners and viewers around the world.

823
00:48:39.280 --> 00:48:40.599
Thank you for being on working on.

824
00:48:40.559 --> 00:48:44.239
Purpose my pleasure. Thank you, Thank you for what you're doing.

825
00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:47.119
Leader, listeners in viewers. You were going to want to

826
00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:49.960
learn more about Brian Cunningham and his books, including the

827
00:48:50.039 --> 00:48:53.039
latest one Leadership The Universal Principles. You can start by

828
00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:58.119
visiting his website, which is Awareness Quotient Leadership dot com

829
00:48:58.239 --> 00:49:02.519
Awareness Quotient Leadership. Last week, we were on aero with

830
00:49:02.559 --> 00:49:05.440
Sebastian Page, the head of Global multi asset and Chief

831
00:49:05.480 --> 00:49:08.239
Investment Officer at tro Price. He has more than two

832
00:49:08.239 --> 00:49:11.360
decades of leadership experience and has done extensive research on

833
00:49:11.440 --> 00:49:15.639
positive sports and personality psychology. We talked about his latest book,

834
00:49:15.800 --> 00:49:19.360
The Psychology of Leadership, Timeless Principles to improve your management

835
00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:22.679
of individuals, teams, and yourself, which is chock full of

836
00:49:22.760 --> 00:49:25.760
previously accepted pearls of wisdom turned on their head to

837
00:49:25.800 --> 00:49:30.000
be used entirely differently for a better outcome. Next week

838
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:32.639
will be on AER with Raj Chaudhuri talking about his

839
00:49:32.760 --> 00:49:35.440
latest book, The World Is Your Office, How work from

840
00:49:35.440 --> 00:49:39.840
anywhere both boost talent, productivity and innovation. You'll be dazzled

841
00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:43.719
by the unfolding possibilities of how work can be incredibly fluid, fulfilling,

842
00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:46.480
and fruitful. See you there. Remember that work is one

843
00:49:46.480 --> 00:49:48.880
of the best adventures and means of realizing our potential

844
00:49:48.880 --> 00:49:51.039
and making the impact with crave that you give us

845
00:49:51.039 --> 00:49:53.000
the opportunity to do business in a way that betters

846
00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:55.159
the world. So let's work on Purpose.

847
00:49:58.400 --> 00:50:01.039
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to

848
00:50:01.079 --> 00:50:04.159
tune into Working on Purpose featuring your host, doctor Elise

849
00:50:04.199 --> 00:50:08.079
Cortes each week on W four CY. Together we'll create

850
00:50:08.119 --> 00:50:12.800
a world where business operates conscientiously, leadership inspires and passion performance,

851
00:50:12.920 --> 00:50:15.679
and employees are fulfilled in work that provides the meaning

852
00:50:15.719 --> 00:50:19.519
and purpose They crave see you there. Let's work on purpose,