Category Archives: Leadership

I buried a good friend last week; Brian Magennis. I don’t intend to use this piece as a testimony to the wonderful person he was or to the brilliant leader that he was, (and he was both those and much more). However, I do want to highlight the real benefits for organisations of even one influential leader in your company living a life from the place of connection to their true self, that I write about regularly in my work.

A lot of what I have written about in these blogs and on different LinkedIn posts talks about the power of connection, about the brilliant design of being human and about the wonderful outcomes that can result from bringing our authentic self into our dealings with others. In any business situation or even any situation in life, the greatest chance of a successful outcome lays in the authentic self, turning up for the conversation.

If you take the simple definition of selling that I use in a lot of my work as making a connection with the other human being and seeing how you can help, a definition that can be extended to many aspects of business where influencing and persuading communications are being carried out.  Then fostering deep connections has got to be at the heart of business relationships, fostering deep connections has got to be at the heart of great leadership.  These sorts of deep connections are not possible when the ego is doing the leading.

When we are thinking about the impact of what we do and say, and how it might reflect on us personally, we are less likely to be acting from our authentic self. We are more likely to be appealing to the intellect, and ego, of the people we are speaking with or leading, and therefore not speaking to the whole person. Not connecting from a coherent embodied place within us that is connecting with the body, mind, heart, and soul of whoever it is we are communicating with.

Building soul-to-soul connection is possible in business. It is not something to be ignored in business or relegated to the more spiritual aspects of life. It can be the foundation for transforming an organisation into one where colleagues are fully engaged in delivering the vision and goals of the group.  Where colleagues are fully invested in their work and receiving the well-being and mental health benefits that arise from the strong, meaningful connections built from being led by ‘Whole Person’ leaders.

Brian Magennis was a perfectly, imperfect example of a ‘Whole Person’ leader.  He understood that to deliver the best financial results for a business you had to lead your people from their whole person perspective, body, mind, heart, and soul.  It wasn’t just enough for the people to intellectually get what it was the business was about or what it was their roles were about.  He lived the power of deep connection to others in all his business relationships.

Miss you Brian.

As you read this, I encourage you to reflect on how you show up in your own life and work. Are you leading from a place of connection to your true self? Are you fostering deep, authentic relationships with those around you? These aren’t just ideals – they’re the foundation for creating a thriving business and a fulfilling life.

What if we allowed ourselves to lead like that? What if, in every business interaction, we showed up fully present, seeking to connect and serve rather than simply achieve? True connection transcends ego and intellect – it fosters environments where colleagues thrive, and organisations transform.

In honour of Brian, let’s strive to lead as whole, imperfect, and beautiful human beings.

Would you look for a book in a bike shop, or a bike in a book shop?  Of course not.

Yet, in business, we often search for solutions in the wrong places – like looking for the bike in a bookstore. For instance, when two colleagues clash, we frequently misidentify the root cause, assuming the problem lies in external circumstances or conflicting agendas. What if the problem was neither of those things, but was instead a difference in perspective or thinking?

Consider the parable of the four blind men describing an elephant. Each holds a different part and offers conflicting descriptions of what an elephant is like. Each account is true as that person sees it, but not an accurate description of an elephant. This illustrates how perspective shapes our understanding of problems, and perspective is always a reflection of our thinking about we are looking at. Instead of focusing solely on the issue at hand as described from one perspective, we should first examine our perceptions or our thinking about the problem.

I recently worked with a client where two directors argued over an unbudgeted investment. One believed it could boost overall margins by 10%, while the other hesitated, arguing that it was unbudgeted and potentially a risk to margin. Through discussion, it became clear that the real concern from the hesitant director was the potential impact on their bonus earnings. Once this was addressed, the opposing director was on board with the investment.
When contention arises, the key is to explore each person’s perspective and thoughts around the problem. To do this requires listening deeply, empathetically and often patiently to allows us to uncover underlying thinking around the topic.

By understanding different viewpoints and the thinking behind these, we can better identify the real issues and thus identify potential solutions. The power of deep listening, in 1-2-1s and especially in meetings, to allow us to seek solutions in the right places, is too often underestimated in business.

Finally, this quote from Helen Schucman seems relevant here;
“All miracles involve a shift in perception.”