The Letting Go of Great Leadership

I recently read the late, great David R. Hawkins’ book Letting Go, which explores emotional release techniques for a clearer mind. It reinforced for me the critical importance of mastering the mind in leadership work.

What comes to mind when you hear the word leadership?

It could be creating a vision, decision-making ability or communication skills. Or maybe it’s empowering and developing others. All this is relevant to great leadership. But, I doubt ‘mastering the mind’ was your first thought. And yet, all great leaders have mastered their minds in one respect or another.

• What has creative leaders be able to make great lateral leaps in their thinking?
• When a powerfully resilient leader stares at the embers of their uninsured burnt-out factory, what allows them to shrug it off and rebuild their business?
• What enables a leader who receives an invitation to propose for new work at 4 pm on Friday to find the energy to get the proposal out in double-quick time and get home for the family dinner?

In all of these cases, the common denominator is the leader’s ability to let go of the machinations of their ‘Monkey Mind’. Sometimes, we call this voice the Ego, the Inner Voice, whatever your preferred moniker. 

For leaders facing a crisis, it’s the ability to release that inner voice of cynicism, fear, anger and frustration to think clearly. For leaders needing to find an extra gear, it’s an ability to transcend a story of tiredness and generate themselves for one last push. For those imagining a new future, it’s the ability to let go of the rational mind applying the breaks to their vision and creativity.

When we can let go of the constant inner chatter – the evaluations, the judgements, the narratives, the predictions, the re-hashing of past events, and the self-doubt and anxiety that often accompany them – we give ourselves the space to focus on what we really want to achieve from one moment to the next.

Mastering the Art

Of course, this practice is easier said than done. In a certain way, we’re addicted to our familiar thoughts and feelings. As my business partner Oddi points out, simply letting go isn’t normally available for our demanding ego; we have to give our minds a new destination. This can be reminding ourselves of what one is committed to, what one is out to achieve, and the relationship one wants to have with the person with whom we’re interacting.

The process looks something like:

> Catch ourselves in our pattern

> Acknowledge the thought/feeling and let it go

> (Re-)Choose what we want to have happen

Stellar Results

For a great example of the power of releasing the inner dialogue, Hawkins’ book retells the story of one of this students, a partner in a large accounting firm. This student was so moved by his success letting go that he left his firm to teach it to others.

From Hawkins’ Letting Go:

[The student] studied the outcome [of teaching people to let go] at one of the largest insurance companies in America. His study found that, within six months of learning the technique, the insurance agents’ sales increased by 33% over a control group. He concluded that success in the world is related to our ability to concentrate, which means the ability to keep our attention on one thing at a time without interference of other thoughts or feelings.

This ability to concentrate is directly linked to our capacity to let go of distracting thoughts and feelings, allowing us to focus on the task at hand.

We have also seen profound success in our own clients with our approach that centres on releasing what we refer to as the Internal Dialogue. This includes one firm that used our leadership programme to help them close a $400m profitability gap.

Your Turn

I invite you to embrace this approach in your own life. When your chattering mind brings an intrusive thought or feeling, notice it. Look at it as a curious thing your brain does. Acknowledge it, then let it go. Finally, choose a new focus.

Consider that mastering the ability to let go is not just of personal benefit but a key to developing a powerful mind and the foundation of outstanding leadership. By embracing the ‘Letting Go’ approach, you can enhance your capacity to lead boldly and clearly.