Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Navigate this site:

A UNIQUE APPROACH BY INSPIRED LEAP

In order to make lasting changes in productivity, creativity, morale, and ethical standards, we recommend that employees bring their whole selves to work. This means they must be able to easily access and use their analytical, emotional, and intuitive intelligences. Not until employees are able to tap into all their ways of “knowing,” or discerning, can high levels of productivity and integrity be achieved and maintained—regardless of the inevitable increases in complexity in the marketplace and work environment. We also contend that any improvements must be made on an individual level, rather than a corporate level (actions speak louder than words, and action steps are taken by people, not corporations).

Our Definition of Intuitive Intelligence
By intuitive or spiritual intelligence, we mean the way of “knowing” that comes from a space inside or that taps into a higher level of intelligence. The dictionary says intuition is “the direct knowing or learning of something without the conscious use of reasoning; immediate understanding.” We also use the word spiritual because we are focusing on the inner knowing that every individual has access to for his or her own personal growth and for needed inspiration, creativity, integrity, and wisdom.

Focus on the Individual
Importantly, the Inspired Leap approach avoids a common complaint about many “positive” training programs: “This is a great idea, but it won’t work here because management doesn’t really buy into it and won’t change.” By focusing solely on the individual, we take the responsibility for change off of management’s shoulders and place it within each and every employee. As each individual makes positive changes to incorporate their own intuitive/spiritual intelligence into their workday, their performance improves, and the positive emotions or energies associated with those steps influence those around them.

OVERVIEW OF THE INSPIRED LEAP APPROACH

Start with Individual Employees Rather Than a Company-Wide Program
The Inspired Leap approach begins with helping your employees move away from negative emotions and take responsibility for what happens to them. While not every employee will be ready to change, we expect to be able to make a significant difference in most employees’ attitudes and performance because of the power, freedom, and sense of control that comes when they claim responsibility for everything that happens to them at the office. Next, we get employees to tap into their intuition, via a few simple techniques and lots of practice and support, to significantly increase their level of creativity.

After spending time with key management personnel to fully understand the issues and the corporate culture, the Inspired Leap program would be adapted to fit your company’s unique challenges. Most programs would include work on:

     claiming responsibility for what happens to you,
     tapping into your own intuition for creative ideas,
     detaching from the outcome of a situation or project,
     forgiving yourself and others,
     practicing kindness and compassion, and
     overcoming resistance to change.

Inspired Leap believes in using a variety of programs because we all learn on different levels. A combination of the following might be used throughout the time we worked together:

     full-day and half-day seminars that include: lectures, team activities,
        physical and mental “stretching” exercises to make sure the whole person         is present, and time for individual reflection and contemplation;
     one-on-one meetings; and
     e-mail follow-up/support after completion of each segment.

Provide Enough Time and Support for Real Changes to Occur
Whether the problem is with productivity, creativity, morale, integrity, or a combination of these, the Inspired Leap approach to significantly increasing performance in these areas includes helping employees develop their intuitive intelligence. In order to effectively do this, we recommend that you work with us for at least 90 days, with 180 days being ideal. We recommend this time frame because it allows for use of a mixture of different types of programs over a number of weeks to encourage and bring about lasting change.

Use Scientific Concepts and Trends As a Framework For Discussions
Quantum (or “new”) physics and studies of the human body and mind offer ways of talking about interconnectedness, energy, and a person’s own inner resources that help in the discussion of intuitive/spiritual intelligence. Even the most ardent nonbeliever in anything spiritual will appreciate the insights from these theories and feel they fit within a business context. For example, chaos theory suggests there is an order—unseen by our eyes, but detectable by powerful computers—to the universe. In addition, the theory of field energy provides a way to imagine how the “energy” of a coworker influences us.

PROFITABLE RESULTS

The transformation of negative emotions and conversations into positive, revenue-building activities and cost-cutting actions will lead to higher profit. This isn’t rocket science. The more often that employees bring their intuitive/spiritual intelligence to work, the stronger the company’s performance, by way of:

     more innovative, highly creative suggestions and solutions to problems;
     more time for managers to work on major challenges instead of acting as
        a referee, or therapist, to employees
     less unwanted turnover, as quality employees find ways to bring their
        whole selves to their work environment; and
     energy and time focused on delivering quality work, rather than on
        worrying about things employees have no control over.

Ultimately, the goal of the Inspired Leap program is to have the majority of your employees—senior management included—see the power of harnessing intuitive/spiritual intelligence in the workplace and have them feel responsible and in control of their life at work. This will lead to superior solutions to daily challenges, decisions that benefit all constituents (shareholders, employees, and the community), and work that is rewarding, fun, and energizing—the way it should be.

KEY COMPONENTS OF THE INSPIRED LEAP APPROACH
(components used would vary, depending upon your specific needs)

Our approach requires participants to bring the following to each session or meeting:

     an open, inquisitive mind that is willing to imagine “what if?” and
     a mind that will thoughtfully explore and try out the concepts presented.

The two concepts we spend the most time on are claiming responsibility and maximizing creativity by cultivating intuition.

Individual Responsibility
Here we emphasize the power that comes to an employee when they take complete responsibility for everything that happens in life—including every experience at work—rather than be a victim. There are two parts to this.

We always have a choice of how to process any event in our lives, including difficult meetings, challenging relationships with coworkers, poor performance reviews, and layoffs. It is the responsibility of each employee to start to make the “highest” choice for themselves and for their coworkers. Approaching life as a victim is draining for the employee and the corporation. We teach how to start seeing the world differently and how that new perspective will positively affect an employee’s performance.

There are no accidents. Everyone, every meeting, every disagreement, every success comes into your life for a reason or purpose. This concept is called “mirroring” and is discussed in numerous self-help and spiritual books, yet it has not been implemented in the corporate world. It is the responsibility of the manager and company for what’s happening to employees at work (both good and challenging) and puts it back where it belongs—with the employees. We recognize that some people will find this concept hard to believe. We are not interested in convincing everyone of the truth of this concept. However, it is extremely powerful, so we approach this as an idea to “try on” first, even though you and your employees may not yet embrace it.

Access Intuition for Superior Creativity Tapping into intuition is an important method for increasing creativity, solving problems, or receiving inspiration. Simple practices that most employees will have heard of can be used to begin to have “ah-ha” moments on a regular basis. The trick is in doing them! We provide time and space for testing out and practicing these methods until they become a habit. In addition, scientific studies about Carl Jung’s theory of a collective unconscious can be used to articulate how intuitive or spiritual wisdom can be accessed.

Additional concepts covered

	Release or Let Go of Attachment to Outcomes We discuss ways to start focusing all of an employee's energy on the action steps that make a project happen, whatever the project or assignment may be. Rather than wasting energy on worrying about the outcome, which we rarely have any control over, we ask your staff to focus on what they do have control over—their own actions. We also work on “letting go” of negative emotions about an argument with their boss, for example, so they can stay focused on their goals. This is a lifelong process that is worth beginning because releasing negative emotions and detaching from the outcome of a situation are key ways to free up energy for more important tasks.
	Forgiveness Learning to forgive yourself and coworkers for mistakes or emotional outbursts is critical to moving forward and maximizing energy for accomplishing tasks or solving problems. Most people avoid practicing forgiveness because it can be so difficult and seem like a sign of weakness. Yet true forgiveness is powerful because it enables employees to get back on track and focused on delivering results. Corrections, apologies, and reparations are still made, as needed, but all parties affected are able to quickly move on if forgiveness has taken place. All spiritual teaching indicates the tremendous increase in energy and positive feelings—"like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders"—that result from an act of true forgiveness, so it’s well worth pursuing.
	Kindness and Compassion Practicing kindness and compassion for oneself, let alone others, is an important part of making and dealing with major changes in life. Another way to think about this is forgiving yourself for errors you make. This does not mean putting the blame on others or not correcting mistakes. It means acknowledging that you’re human, taking 100% responsibility for your error, making any corrections or reparations, then letting the mistake go. Continuing to beat yourself up leads to low self-esteem, which has been called this country’s greatest epidemic or weakness. Being kind to yourself and others builds self-esteem and a sense of personal integrity that can only enhance performance in the workplace.
	Sustainability We focus on how to create an environment within your workplace that sustains employees rather than drains them. The emphasis will be on maximizing the spirit or energy of the employee. This is the beginning brainstorming session on values and what’s really important in the workplace. Notice how late it shows up in the process. Only after working on creating a sense of inner strength and confidence in incorporating these concepts personally do we turn to the idea of asking the corporation to enact changes that enable employees to continue to make significantly better contributions to their company.
	Resistance to Change Finally, the strong resistance to change that keeps people from making even positive changes outlined in this program is acknowledged and dealt with. Specific recommended actions, incorporating the excellent work of Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence, are included.