Joanna Barsh - Centered Leadership: Leading with Purpose, Clarity, and Impact

Copyright 2014 by Joanna Barsh

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Crown Business, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN BUSINESS is a trademark and CROWN and the Rising Sun colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Barsh, Joanna.
Centered Leadership : Leading with purpose,
clarity, and impact / by Joanna Barsh and Johanne Lavoie.
pages cm
1. Leadership. I. Lavoie, Johanne. II. Title.
HD57.7.B3676 2014
658.4092dc23

2013031300

ISBN 978-0-80413887-1
eBook ISBN 978-0-8041-3888-8

Jacket design by M80 Design

v3.1_r1

To our loving husbands and daughters:
You fill our hearts to the brim and then some.

In which we introduce the program that Fortune 100 companies have been using with success to increase their leadership capacity

In which we share our professional and personal context and describe the leadership journey that awaits you

In which we begin our journey by practicing a Check-In, setting agreements, and familiarizing ourselves with how adults learn

In which you begin your journey as a leader by grounding yourself in the characteristics of leadership that you most admire, which lie within you

In which we introduce Meaning and its three dimensionshappiness, strengths, and purposeand what youll find in this section

In which you identify your strengths and how to draw on them more to release positive energy at workand at home

In which we meet Wangechi Mutu, a visual artist born in Kenya, who finds meaning and happiness by deepening her many strengths

In which you take steps toward finding your own purpose by looking into your future to discover what really matters to you and what you most want to create

In which Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of the Harlem Childrens Zone, discovers his purpose and spends a lifetime pursuing it, drawing others into his bold vision

In which we introduce a powerful approach to working with fear and experiencing challenges as learning opportunitiesand what youll find in this section

In which you become aware of your own amygdala hijacks, what fears and needs lie beneath, and how they both serve and limit you

In which Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, shares her experience with fears, keeping her power, and gaining comfort with discomfort

In which you learn to step out of the movie and see yourself in it, understand what in you is triggered, and choose what you most want to create

In which Zoe Yujnovich, president and CEO of Iron Ore Company of Canada, demonstrates how to pause with powerful effect

In which you learn to use the iceberg to uncover your underlying mindsets and choose a different one to create the experience you really want

In which Edward P. Gilligan, president of American Express, makes his way to the C-suite by learning to see the opportunity in business and in life

In which we show you the three elements of Connecting; how they help transform relationships and build community; and what youll find in this section

In which youll learn the four elements of trust and where you stand on each, all with the goal to choose actions that inspire greater trust in yourself and in others

In which June Yee Felix, now managing director and global head of health care for Citi Enterprise Payments, builds trust on her teams

In which you develop a map of your network, explore the mindsets that drove your choices, and create your desired network in service of your vision

In which Monique Leroux, chair of the board, president and CEO of Desjardins Group, defines a network and a community, and how she built both in service of her business

In which youll take steps to strengthen your sponsor relationships and cultivate new ones to accelerate your development and impact

In which John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay, Inc., shares his approach to seeking mentors and sponsors who helped him grow into a leader

In which we step into our presence, and then step outside of our comfort zone, taking risks and actions; and what youll find in this section

In which youll gain the tools to be fully present; craft a compelling story to align, engage, and mobilize others; and bring your story to life

In which Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO of the Este Lauder Companies, shares a few stories that teach as they inspire

In which youll build confidence to act by learning your yes and no; and engaging your voices and others to increase your courage and confidence

In which Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder and CEO of Care.com, recounts how she learned to embrace the polarities of leadership and let go of perfection

In which youll experiment with a few tools designed to help you look at your challenge differently, increasing your comfort with personal risk taking and setting out

In which Biniam Gebre, born in Eritrea, follows hope in a zigzag path to survive childhood, provide for his family, and reach for his dream

In which we make renewal and recovery your responsibility to sustain your path as a leader; and what youll find in this section

In which youll experiment with understanding how emotions link to energy state; recognize your own patterns, and find ideas for recovery during work

In which Jamil Mahuad, former president of Ecuador, recognizes recoverys role in his health and peace on the border with Peru

In which youll learn mindfulness and other recovery techniques that will serve you to replenish energy and recover when you most need it

In which Rebecca Blumenstein, deputy editor in chief at the Wall Street Journal, thrives in a global newspaper while raising a family by practicing recovery

In which we share how to embed your commitment to recovery and renewal in regular practice that is sustainable

In which Terry Lundgren, chairman, president, and CEO of Macys, Inc., recounts the times he recovered from setbacks only to find greater opportunity in store

In which you reflect on the commitments to your leadership vision that truly matter to you and take your stand publicly, gearing up for action

In which five colleagues enter through their doorway of choice, illuminating what it means to be a Centered Leader

In which youll develop your Learning Plan and prepare for your field work to practice in real life work challenges

Im sitting in my gently aging apartment on a weekday afternoon in cold, rainy April and no longer wondering what it will feel like to be sixty years old and retired. Because I am sixty years old, with a successful career just completed. But you dont look sixty! you graciously say; I dont feel sixty, either. Thanks to my parents, I have the same brown hair and girlish look. Im still short (vertically challenged, notes my husband, David; fun-sized, chirps my daughter Jetta). But something in me has changed. Im having more positive impact than I ever imagined. Im more productive. I dream bolder. And I laugh more. Im filled to the brim with a wondrous potion that I started drinking a short while ago.