Business entities can accelerate their highest potential by engaging in a customised business coaching programme . Global CEO Magazine connects with Ms Ayanthi Philip. Ms Ayanthi Philip is the Founder/CEO of www.AyanthiPhilip.com  She is a Global Corporate Coach and a Consultant.

Q: Can you briefly define what leadership consciousness means?
Leadership consciousness really is about being mindful, present, and intentional in the leadership approach. When we break it down, being conscious is really about being aware. Awareness, awareness of myself, awareness of others around me, who they are, what they’re thinking, feeling, where they’re coming from. And being truly aware help us to navigate in these very challenging times.

Q: How important do you think leadership consciousness is for the success of an organisation?
I think today it’s vital, right? More than ever before, globally, there is so much competition and it is at an accelerating pace. Today teams are called to perform at their highest and it’s vital for teams to function at their optimal. And here’s the thing. Harvard Business Review has reported that 20% of people globally are struggling with anxiety and depression. 40% of Gen Zs and 44% of millennials say that they are stressed or anxious at all times.

Now, when you have this kind of workforce, this means one fifth of your workforce have anxiety and worry. And then when we have leaders who could be demanding, nonchalant, unaware, unempathetic, this adds more stress. So then we have employees breaking down, systems breaking down, and then organisations breaking down. And this is the worry.

Q: As a corporate trainer, what inspired you to get into this line of work?
Well, many things. I was in corporate for 10 years with global and multinational companies. And after 10 years, I wanted to give back what I gained in my corporate life. individuals who really prosper and become successful. Ten years ago I started training and those very individuals now come back to me and give training for their companies. So I believe it’s a reward.

Q: What sort of industries or sectors connect with you on a regular pace locally and globally?
It’s a number of sectors. There’s hospitality right now. There’s apparels, manufacturing, tour and travel companies, IT, software. So there is a broad spectrum, I would say.

Q: What specific actions or behaviours do you believe demonstrate strong leadership consciousness?
Well, first and foremost, and this is something I bring up in my leadership programmes, is to be self-aware. And this I find in a lot of leaders. I wouldn’t say a lot, I would say a certain number of leaders may lack self-awareness. And this means my perception of myself, what I think of myself, is different from what my team and my colleagues think of me. Right. And if that’s not in par, there’s a big problem. Because they go around having a perception of themselves which is very different. So self-awareness is a key point. What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? What should I leverage on? What are those weaknesses where I need a team or some people to help me with? And that is the starting point of leadership.

Secondly, it’s empathy. Empathy is huge. It’s one of the five competencies of Daniel Goleman’s Competencies in emotional intelligence. Empathy is really about understanding everyone’s world, where they’re coming from, and how we can navigate ourselves for them. The other thing is about being emotionally aware of ourselves because we go through so many emotions in a day. Some certain things, certain situations or people could trigger us, but there are times that we’re upset and we don’t even know about it. And this is key for leaders to be totally emotionally cognizant of themselves. And then to be aware of the people around them.

Emotionally, what is someone feeling? The persons in front of me, what are they not saying? What is their body language showing? And in this culture, a lot of the time, there are things that people say that may not really be what they’re trying to say. The words and what’s truly going on in their body language could have a disparity. And this is where emotional intelligence is truly called for. And finally, as leaders, they need to lead by example. When we say leadership consciousness, what are the type of words I use? What is the type of voice I use? The tone of my voice? What is the body language I use? Is it overpowering for the team? Will they fear me when I walk into a room? Or will they collaborate and engage with me? So these are the key aspects in leadership consciousness.

Q: What initiatives or programmes would you effectively foster leadership consciousness within an organisation and how do you believe leadership consciousness can be integrated into the organisation’s culture?
It’s really about being mindful and it’s about reprogramming our minds and our thoughts to adapt to the people around us. When we look back at the Gen Zs, they were brought up very differently. 30, 40 years ago, there was a very authoritative hierarchical structure, which is very different now. So it’s really about rethinking and reprogramming things to suit the current day organisation.

Q: What role do you think leadership training and development programmes play in enhancing leadership consciousness among staff?
I think it plays a massive role. It needs to again be consciously thought of.