When was the last time you felt truly connected to life, yourself, the people around you, your environment, or a higher power? How do you think you reached that state of complete connection? How did it feel? Imagine you could re-create this powerful state any time and apply it to your role as a leader. What do you think would happen? 

When we reach a state of connection, we are at our best level of performance. We are in the present and free of fear and judgment of ourselves or others. Some people refer to this state as “being in the zone” or “being in the flow.” I was in the zone this morning during my daily CrossFit routine. While on a Nordic Track skier, I exceeded 1,000 cals/hour for the very first time. In the past, I may have gotten to around 800 cals/hour at best, but today something connected that led me to peak performance. I was able to get out of my head and overcome my limiting belief that I was not capable of reaching this level, even when my coach had been telling me otherwise for quite some time. 

Connection is the eighth practice (a.k.a. discipline) out of the ten featured in this series of how to unleash the career of your dreams and reach your full potential as a leader. In case you have missed previous articles on the subject, here is the complete list of the ten practices as defined by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC):

1. Awareness
2. Acceptance
3. Conscious Choice
4. Trusting the Process
5. Authenticity
6. Fearlessness
7. Confidence
8. Connection
9. Presence in the Moment
10. 100% Energetic Engagement

When we look at our lives and careers from the perspective of connection and believe that everyone and everything are connected on some level, we overcome division and the need to feel superior, “having a leg up” over someone, and the trappings of our ego. The need to win at all costs disappears. Instead, we create a space of highly anabolic energy that elevates everyone around us. Leaders who know how to connect attract their tribe of like-minded people who want to work with them and consistently achieve that state of flow. It is the key to building high-performance teams. 

If you desire to increase your level of connection and reach your full potential as a leader, here are a few things you can do:

• Practice awareness (see discipline 1) of your environment and interactions with other people. Listen to them deeply and empathize
• Take walks in nature and connect with your surroundings. Listen to the sounds, become aware of the smell that is surrounding you, take off your shoes and walk in the grass or splash your feet in a cold creek, and see how invigorated and connected you’ll feel
• Connect to a higher power and find relief through prayer or meditation

As a professional coach, I help my clients determine what inner blocks are holding them back from being fully connected and systemically work with them on creating their state of flow. If you are interested in working with me, contact me at angela@belladonnacareercoach.com.