Center Yourself and Your Team in 3 Minutes (or Less)

You know how it feels to begin a meeting when all the attendees are wildly distracted. Most leaders are in back-to-back meetings, with barely enough time to go to the bathroom let alone collect themselves and their thoughts to be fully available.

At some point you’ve also probably experienced a guided grounding exercise that helped you and others let go of the stressors and unprocessed emotions of the day. Maybe it was led by a meditation teacher, a yoga instructor or some other wellness guru. Whenever possible, it’s powerful to have this kind of guidance. But you could also lead a centering exercise on your own. You don’t have to be an expert, just bring your intent for clarity and calm and let this 3 minute script below do the rest. Suggestion: read it slowly.

You may have heard the phrase go slow to go fast. Before we get in to the content of today’s meeting, let’s deliberately slow down for a few minutes. For this you can have your eyes open or closed.

Start to notice your breathing. As you breathe, where does it go, where does it flow?

[pause]

Notice the speed. Notice the depth of each breath.

[pause]

Next I invite you to feel your seat on the seat…

Feel your feet on the floor.

Observe all other points of contact – perhaps your arm resting on the chair.

[pause]

Now if your body was divided front and back, how much of your energy and awareness is in front of you? How much energy and awareness do you have behind you?

[pause]

If your body was divided left and right, how evenly distributed are you between the two sides?

[pause]

Now I invite you to scan your entire body, as if you were looking at it on a radar screen. What parts of your body blip on that screen and get your attention? Notice any areas of tension or tightness.

[pause]

Now once again, observe the breath. Noticing its speed, its rhythm.

Notice the depth of each breath.

[pause]

And now we’ll slowly return to the room, no need to hurry.

Note: You might debrief immediately afterwards to help participants digest and internalize this self-awareness process. Just ask for a volunteer or two to share:

• How was that for you?

• What shifted in you as you slowed down to observe your body?

3 Critical Ways Leaders Increase and Access Alignment

Why Access Alignment, you ask? Aside from a love of alliteration, and a penchant for un-sexy brand names, I chose this name because it felt big enough to encapsulate three of the most important things we do:

1. Leading Purposefully: access alignment with your values
We continually witness and I’ve personally experienced how powerful it is to align purpose with path. When leaders align their values with their everyday actions:
- Everything falls into place.
- There is flow.
- Work can be done with greater ease, fulfillment and enjoyment.
- It’s not so heavy, burdensome or tiring.
- Impact multiplies.

2. Leading Fully as a Whole Person: access alignment with all parts of yourself
We know about IQ. We’re increasingly familiar with EQ and how this is essential for leading well. Very few understand or utilize SQ. In fact, what the heck is SQ?
SQ = soma (body) quotient. This is not even standard nomenclature yet but you’ve likely heard others touch on this untapped super power. Amy Cuddy, PhD taught us Power Poses. Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD explains how The Body Keeps the Score. And I learned from a decade of training in ZenBodytherapy® that our physical alignment - how we sit, stand and move - dramatically impacts how we think and feel. So increasing alignment physically and tapping into the brilliance of your body is something particularly potent. When you attune to all parts of yourself - head, heart and body:
- You connect more deeply with yourself, with others and the world around you.
- You increase empathy.
- You increase your capacity to be inclusive with others.
- It’s easier to create psychological safety.
- You know how to increase your own sense of safety in a world mired with triggers and trauma.
- You open doors and opportunities for yourself and for others.

3. Leading with Impact and Leverage: access alignment with others
When you’ve increased alignment within yourself, gaining alignment with others is a much easier, organic process. It’s far easier to craft a vision and embody it such that others are naturally drawn to it.
When you’ve done the groundwork of #1 and 2 above:
- You’re naturally more curious, humble, open and able to make adjustments or corrections when needed.
- You gain traction and influence.
- Generating or accessing alignment in your teams and in groups is easier and even exhilarating.
- Teamwork, collaboration, innovation, efficiency, and productivity soars.