‘Above the line and below the line’ is a Conscious Leadership model, useful for articulating behaviours and culture.
In its simplest form, take a blank piece of paper and draw a horizontal line drawn through the centre of it. In the bottom half, jot down what your culture looks like behaviourally when you are ‘not at your best’, and at the top, describe your culture when you are ‘at your best’. The line represents a choice for leaders – to operate either above the line or below it.
𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 leadership usually occurs when a leader is closed, defensive and reactive in the pursuit of being right.
Some of the thoughts and beliefs that sit behind these behaviours include:
🔸 It’s not my fault
🔸 I’m right/they’re wrong
🔸 It’s not my responsibility
🔸 I know everything there is to know about the situation
🔸 It has to happen this way
While 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 leadership tends to draw energy from the system and breed resentment, operating 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 builds the trust and respect needed to sustain high performance underpinned by values.
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 leadership is about taking responsibility for your own actions and decisions, interpreting life through a ‘by me’ lens. It occurs when a leader is open and curious, setting high standards for the team, and staying accountable for their own performance. It is a commitment to developing self-awareness, being challenged, and seeing every interaction as an opportunity to learn.
Some of the thoughts and beliefs that sit behind these behaviours include:
🔸 I can always become even better and grow
🔸 How might I take ownership and accountability for what is happening?
🔸 What else could be going on in this situation that I’m not aware of?
🔸 How can I involve the right people and break silos?
🔸 How can I add value to the collective results?
At any moment, a leader is either above or below the line.
Knowing that you are 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 is more important than always being above it. The first mark of Conscious Leadership is self-awareness. The second is pausing…then making a conscious choice to shift into an open and curious state that raises you 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦.
OPIONION PIECE: Samie Al Achrafi, Pioneer of the Conscious Leadership movement, Speaker, Author of 9 and #Time4Humanity.
