During my time in retail we spent endless hours, hired various companies, and talked ad nauseam about our customer profile and their journey. 

Critical information to know and succeed as a retailer, but outer focus with limited inner self-awareness just gets you spinning in circles. This is relevant to our personal lives (and other industries) too.

What if these same retailers spent even half the amount of time getting to know the strengths of their employees? What if they armed them with coaching and tools for self-awareness? What if they supported them as they uproot subconscious beliefs and stories that get in the way of them stepping fully into their authentic leadership at every level?

Fun fact: 95% of our actions, words, thoughts, reactions in a day are driven by our subconscious.

Translation: 95% of the time we don’t know the why behind what we say and do.

What if employers nurtured and empowered their employees to have tough conversations, to truly listen, to take time out for themselves, and to hear their inner voice again?

Not doing the above is what creates toxic work cultures, conversations that go nowhere, meetings that didn’t need to happen, burnout, high employee turnover, and, specific to retail, too many styles offered, yet again (which is a huge cause of the negative environmental impact retail has on earth). 

One of the simplest ways to increase self-awareness is to start implementing a brief pause before reacting. A pause paired with a deep breath resets your nervous system, gets you out of fight or flight (heightened in any stressful environment), and makes space for your inner voice to be heard. Have you ever noticed some of your best leaders tend to pause before answering?

If you’re resonating with the above, give yourself a moment today and just bring awareness to your inner dialog. What stories are you telling you about you? What’s the truth behind them? When have they been proven not true? Where are you reacting and where is that reaction coming from? And if you’re finding yourself frustrated by or not understanding a co-worker, how can you lead with curiosity? Where are you doing the same thing and expecting to get a different result?

If you’d like support where you are now or have any questions please feel free to send me a direct message.