Summer 2020 will live in our collective memory.
No flights packed with tourists. No handshakes, high-fives, or quick coffees at crowded bars. Instead: masks, elbow bumps, news-scroll marathons, solo runs through silent streets.
Yet beneath the strangeness, something remarkable surfaced—something only leaders chose to do. We looked inward. We asked Who am I? We listened. We practiced the oldest, most under-leveraged leadership discipline: introspection.
Introspection: the doorway to conscious leadership
Why does self-examination matter right now? Because presence is non-negotiable in a crisis. When uncertainty turns the volume up to eleven, your people will tune their emotional radar to you. If you’re not present—truly here, not lost in past regrets or future fears—they’ll feel it before you speak a word.
Presence begins with noticing what’s going on inside: the quiet murmur of beliefs, the surge of emotions, the sneaky stories our brains spin. That inner noticing is the first step toward consciousness—and it is consciousness that converts ordinary managers into leaders worth following.
Beware the ANT infestation
Enter Dr. Daniel Amen’s memorable acronym: ANTs—Automatic Negative Thoughts. He coined it after a rough day at the clinic, when he realized that each negative thought triggered a biochemical cascade that made his body feel lousy. Sadness, anger, judgment, helplessness—every ANT releases neurochemicals that dampen alertness, constrict creativity, and dim the prefrontal cortex, the very seat of decision-making.
Leaders under an ANT assault can’t think clearly enough to steward a team, let alone inspire one. The good news? Positive thoughts create the opposite effect—but chasing constant positivity is not the answer.
The trap of forced positivity
Tell a drowning person to “think happy thoughts,” and you hand them a painted rock. They may smile, but they still sink. Forced positivity breeds guilt (why can’t I feel better?) and denial (maybe the sharks aren’t real). Both reactions give the ego another chance to hijack reality.
Conscious leadership is not about pink-washing the facts; it’s about seeing the facts without the fog. Think efficiently, not positively. Efficiency means choosing thoughts that serve the moment, then releasing them once their job is done.
How the ego feeds on time travel
Our minds stay busy by replaying then or forecasting when, labeling each scene good or bad. Those four variables—past, future, positive, negative—produce an infinite reel of mental cinema. Once useful for survival, that reel now disconnects us from what is actually happening. Bit by bit, our ego builds a personalized Matrix. We call the process “feeding the ego,” and it starves our capacity for right-now leadership.
A two-variable worldview
To lead consciously, simplify your lens to two variables:
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Reality—what is objectively true in this moment.
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Now—the only timeframe we can act within.
Everything else is mental noise.
Seven questions that exterminate ANTs
When you notice an ANT crawling across your mental screen—The economy will implode; our company will go bust; my team will crumble—pause and interrogate it:
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Is it real right now? Has this already happened?
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Is it 100% certain to happen soon?
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Can I influence the outcome? If yes, list concrete actions; if no, write “NOTHING.”
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If it does happen, do I have at least a rough plan?
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What emotion arises when I imagine the worst?
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How do I treat others when I’m in that emotion?
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How do I feel—and behave—when I consider alternative outcomes?
Answering these questions drags the ANT into daylight. Awareness alone often squashes it. When awareness isn’t enough, turn to your action list, execute what you can, and let the rest go.
Planning versus ruminating
Yes, sketch the worst-case scenario. Build contingencies. Then file the plan. Re-reading it daily only paralyzes you and nudges the nightmare toward reality. Conscious leaders prepare, then disconnect—a discipline that frees cognitive bandwidth for vision and innovation.
From automatic to intentional
“But if ANTs are automatic, aren’t they beyond my control?” Only until you name them. Habits hide in silence; they weaken under scrutiny. The moment you spot an ANT, you create a gap between stimulus and response. In that gap lies choice—the birthplace of leadership. Train yourself to spot, question, and neutralize. Over time, ANTs grow scarce, replaced not by forced positivity but by clear-eyed, present-moment thinking.
Your brain’s on-switch should illuminate a specific challenge. When the task is complete, hit off. Let awareness—not rumination—fill the silence. That is how we remain ourselves, ANT-free and fully present.
Conscious Leadership Tip #9
Treat every intrusive thought like a headline without a source.
Before you accept, like, or share it with your team, verify: Is it true now? Can I influence it? If the answer is no, delete it. If yes, act—then move on. Presence is the leader’s native advantage; guard it by fact-checking your own mind.