INsight/ Shining Light Within

Chiangmai, 14 December 2025 — How do we stay present while engaged?

Story

At work, many of us move outward by default. We lean into meetings, deadlines, and conversations as if effectiveness requires leaving ourselves behind. Over time, this outward movement becomes habitual, and something essential inside us is neglected.

Yet there is another way of showing up. Instead of stepping out into the world, we can let the world gently enter us. We remain present, allowing experience to touch us without losing our inner ground.

When this happens, action feels different. There is less strain and more clarity. Doing becomes guided by ‘being’, as if light shines from within rather than effort pushing outward.

Challenge

Most workplaces reward visible action. Pausing, sensing, and allowing can feel inefficient or even risky. We may fear that slowing down means falling behind.

So we rely on effort and competence. Presence becomes something we hope to return to later. Over time, this creates subtle exhaustion and disconnection.

The challenge is not withdrawal from life. It is full engagement without self-abandonment. Letting ‘being’ take the lead, moment by moment, as a life practice.

Question

My question for you this week is: How will you stay present while engaged? Can you sense yourself as experience unfolds rather than stepping away to manage it?

Where, today, could you let the world come to you—a conversation, a task, a decision—while maintaining inner presence? If you trusted ‘being’ a little more than ‘doing’, what might quietly reorganize itself in your work and in your life?

This is one of the twelve leadership behaviors we practice in the Grow3Leaders community as we work on expanding our self-awareness in life and work. You can join us at https://grow3leaders.mn.co

Photo: Lanterns in Chiangmai. Is yours shining?

INsight/ Functioning and Being

Chiangmai, 8 December 2025 — How to act from an expanded self-awareness at work?

Story

This weekend, a senior manager told me about a moment that surprised her. She was in the middle of a fast-moving meeting, juggling timelines and tensions, when she noticed something subtle: even as she spoke, a quieter part of her was simply there—present, spacious, aware.

“It felt like I was both doing the work and watching from a deeper place,” she said. “And strangely, I became more effective.”

Her experience reminds me of the writings of A.H. Almaas: that our capacity to function in the world becomes more fluid, intelligent, and congruent when we’re also in touch with our Being, the felt sense of authentic presence at the core of who we are. That also resonates with Lisa Miller’s work in The Awakened Brain.

Challenge

Most professionals are rewarded for functioning—solving problems, responding fast, producing results. But functioning without Being often becomes mechanical: we react, defend, push, or overextend.

Our awareness narrows, and we lose contact with the deeper intelligence that could guide us. The real challenge is not slowing down or withdrawing—it’s expanding our self-awareness while we work.

This means including not only tasks and goals but also the felt sense of ourselves: breath, body, emotions, inner space. Presence makes our functioning clearer, less effortful, and more aligned with who we truly are.

Question

Here’s my question for you this week:

How to act from an expanded self-awareness at work?

That’s what we explore in the Grow3Leaders community of practice. To grow your collaborative leadership at work, you are welcome to come and join us at https://grow3leaders.mn.co.

ACTivity/ Boosting Intrinsic Motivation

Kathmandu, 15 October 2025 — How might your leadership transform when learning becomes a shared adventure?

Story

A small group of mid-level leaders joined a development program as a team, not as individuals. Their mission was to fix a broken process that everyone avoided. At first, they played it safe and stayed polite.

As weeks passed, real conversations began. They laughed, argued, and started to trust each other. The work became lighter, ideas came faster, and motivation grew from within.

By the end, they had not only solved the problem but discovered something bigger — that learning together had transformed them all. It was growth that felt real, energizing, and deeply human.

Challenge

Most leadership programs still focus on individuals. One person, one plan, one coach. It’s structured and measurable — but often lonely.

Real leadership takes shape in connection. When people face a challenge together, they access autonomy, mastery, and purpose — the core of intrinsic motivation. The shared struggle becomes the teacher.

This kind of growth can’t be replicated by workshops or webinars. It happens only when leaders lean into one another, trusting the process more than the plan.

Question

What if your next leadership challenge wasn’t something to handle alone, but a chance to grow together?

What if collaboration itself became the classroom — and the reward was energy, not exhaustion?

How might your leadership transform when learning becomes a shared adventure?

P.S. Collaborative leadership challenges are what we do in Grow3Leaders. You’re welcome to join at https://grow3leaders.mn.co

ACTivity/ What You Show

Ubud, 1 October 2025 — How do you show up in leadership development?

Story

Leadership development isn’t about grand gestures; it’s about the way you consistently show up. Every small action, every day you bring focus and energy, adds up. How you carry yourself in learning spaces reflects the depth of your commitment more than any outcome. Growth shows itself in your presence long before it shows in results.

Consistency builds credibility. When you show up reliably, others notice—and trust begins to form. Enthusiasm adds energy, lifting not only your own engagement but inspiring those around you. Collaboration transforms growth from a solo effort into a shared journey, deepening both understanding and connection.

Even subtle acts—sharing reflections, embracing feedback, or contributing thoughtfully—signal readiness and openness. These visible expressions of presence shape how your leadership is perceived, setting the tone for both your development and the learning culture around you.

Challenge

What will you do when a challenge shows up and the process gets difficult? Life’s pressures can shake your consistency. Setbacks can dampen your enthusiasm. Others’ disengagement can make collaboration feel heavy. These moments test the true strength of your commitment.

When all three—consistency, enthusiasm, and collaboration—are tested at once, the pressure exposes what truly drives your leadership. Do you retreat, go through the motions, or disengage? Or do you lean in, sustaining presence and energy even when it feels inconvenient?

Growth reveals itself in these challenging moments. How you navigate difficulty, remain engaged, and uphold your energy under pressure is a far truer measure of leadership than success in easy circumstances.

Question

How do you show up in leadership development? Even when it’s hard, and every element of leadership—your consistency, enthusiasm, and collaboration—is challenged: what defines you then?

We all experience those moments. What would it look like to fully lean into them, treating difficulty not as a barrier but as the arena where your leadership becomes visible and grows rapidly? Are you up for that challenge?

If yes, how might you cultivate ways of showing up that remain steady, positive, and engaged—even when the pressures are at their peak? That’s what we practice in the Grow3Leaders community. Join us at https://grow3leaders.mn.co if you’re curious and committed, ready to lean into growing your leadership with others.

LEADer/ Integrally Informed Consciousness

Manila, 24 September 2025 — How can we understand reality and find radical wholeness?

Story

For leaders, living from our true north matters. Values matter—alongside vision, purpose, and strengths. And there’s more.

For me, the highest value is the quality of our consciousness. I inquire into it in nearly every situation—whether coaching, working with leaders, or simply exercising, shopping, or traveling.

But how do we explore the quality of consciousness? What method or map can guide us? That’s where philosophy helps: it gives us a framework to understand reality, trust human potential, and keep growing with a love of learning.

Challenge

One of the philosophers I trust is Ken Wilber, creator of Integral Theory. In his 2003 Kosmic Consciousness interview with Tami Simon of Sounds True, he calls himself a storyteller. His story comes in the form of maps—comprehensive guides to reality and human potential, drawn from sciences and wisdom traditions alike.

From these interviews, I came to see Wilber as both brilliantly sharp and deeply kind, with a self-deprecating humor that doesn’t always come across in his books.

If you do like reading, I recommend his 2024 book Finding Radical Wholeness.

Question

A key Integral principle is: Everyone is right. That simple truth helps us weave perspectives together, break through silos, and lead across boundaries. In this way, practicing Integral Theory helps to foster collaboration in our workplaces and beyond.

When I first encountered Wilber’s work, it felt like coming home. I hope you may feel that too. We draw on this body of work in our leadership coaching. You can find the interview on Audible and the book on Kindle—I often listen while exercising.

So my leadership question for you this week is: How will you understand reality and find radical wholeness?