New Ground Rules for Decision Making in Business

Written by: Rosie Kuhn

My clients are extraordinary people. Each is invested in expanding their breadth of wisdom, only in service to bringing the fullest expression of their essential self to their profession, and to their life in general.

Each is engaged in what seems to be high-stakes ventures, and they understand that, in order to fulfill their vision, they have to think outside their current paradigm. This sounds like you – Right?

Most of us believe that the inherent gifts and talents found in extraordinary people are what make them extraordinary. It is so much more than that!

Extraordinary people empower themselves to generate the outcome of their vision. This is only possible by cultivating intelligence – including emotional intelligence, a practice that supports, among other things, emotional blockages and the removal of bankrupt interpretations regarding who they are and what they are doing in the world of business. This sounds like you too – Right?

You see, extraordinary people, as you know, because you are one, already, acknowledge that they have been gifted with their talents. More importantly, they experience gratitude for these gifts. Because they do not take their gifts for granted, they cultivate and nourish the environment within themselves so that they can expand into the fullest expression of their essential nature.

Fulfilling a company’s vision isn’t based on action alone. It is based on actions that come from cultivated awareness. Extraordinary people willingly challenge limiting beliefs that interfere with the fullest utilization of their gifts and talents. They do this by willingly immersing them in the discomfort of emotions that stop them from taking the smallest risks. They do this because they know there is effortless access to a wisdom far beyond their comprehension. They know fulfillment is readily available only by getting out of their own way. Getting out of their way requires them to look beyond their thoughts and engage the wisdom of their emotional intelligence.

Extraordinary people, when meeting ordinary experiences, are stymied and stumped, just like us ordinary folk. The difference is that they willingly penetrate and explore the edge of reason of their current paradigm. They face personal demons in dilemmas that surface throughout everyday life, and they choose to not only see things differently, but explore the emotions and bodily sensations, that either block success, or empower them to realize their potential.

It isn’t because extraordinary people are fearless and courageous beyond measure; it’s that they are curious to know what lies beyond the signpost that reads: “DANGER: EMOTIONS!!! DO NOT ENTER.” They want to expand their repertoire and capacity to choose differently when facing unknown territory and perceived dead ends. They comprehend that there is a wisdom beyond their own level of intellectual expertise that will guide and assist them into more expansive and effective leadership. They are scared, just like the rest of us; however they act regardless of the fear.

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Every individual is extraordinary – I truly believe this to be so. Those who risk crossing the line of Mental Intelligence and enter the domain of EQ – Emotional Intelligence, empower themselves to take into their own hands the fruition of their desires. Art Delorenzo, Maximize Your Talent, talks about what has been considered Soft Skills – some of which are: Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills. As Art writes: “The development of EQ is essential to arrest this decline and enhance performance at home and work.” Our current paradigm of business has relegated Emotional Intelligence at the back end of their practice – though it may be articulated on the front end. I believe that those of us who are willing to go for the extraordinary, empower ourselves to leave no stone unturned, to uncover every possible shift that they can make, in service of their highest expression of themselves, in every aspect of their lives.

Every one of us is invited to acknowledge our God-given talents, and to nurture them into full expression. Some of us do and most of us won’t. What empowers choice-makers, like you, to see more clearly how you choose to choose what you choose, in regard to the work you do, the people you work with and yourself? You are utilizing your emotional intelligence in ways that others fear to try.

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While in your work environment, there is never a time when you are not making choices in relation to these three aspects: You are always juggling, prioritizing and reprioritizing in order to feel a sense of balance, progress and fulfillment.

When we are able to distinguish the many aspects of life and work to which we are committed, we are then able to make sense of the competing emotional factors that pull us in opposing directions and puts us in a dilemma. Normally, we don’t know what to choose or how to choose to choose. So, we sit on the fence, at the choice-point, waiting and hoping for something to steer us in the right direction. Regardless of your work, in this moment, you are most likely sitting at a choice-point – waiting and hoping. You are either looking at the underlying emotions that are tugging and pulling you in both directions, or you are in Head-In-The-Sand 101.

We generally ignore the presence of our emotional and human self, with all its various influence in our lives. Until we feel powerless, helpless and hopeless, desperate, sick or crazy. Then, and only then, do we begin to pay attention to who we are beyond our thinking minds.

Understanding that we are not our circumstances, nor are we our choices, nor even our humanity, we are given an opportunity to be with the questions – “If I’m not that, then what am I? And, if I’m more than what I appear to be, how do I access, utilize and optimize this higher wisdom and intelligence?”

It’s not as though this conversation isn’t going on inside you without your knowledge or consent. It actually never stops! It’s just that your hierarchy of commitments may obscure the ongoing conversation you are having with this higher wisdom; to the degree that it’s barely a whisper among the din of circumstances, survival needs and pleasures sought.

What I’m sharing with you here is much of what I share with all my corporate clients. I empower them to empower themselves to acknowledge the current dilemma that has them have to choose between what they say they want, and those conflicting commitments which they also want. My clients, more often than not reveal to themselves emotions, and the choices they make based on these emotions. They had not allowed themselves to reveal their true perspectives until they found it safe to do so. Its big work!

How to choose to choose what to choose, while at this choice-point, is just a practice of acknowledging what is, in the given moment, regarding thoughts, interpretations, emotions, and body sensations. Extraordinary people are curious enough to not take themselves or their gifts for granted. They allow themselves to reach beyond their own normal for what to others may seem impossible. Truth is they are showing us how possible it is, given a little curiosity and pinch of daring.