Business Reflections Podcast Episode #24 - Conscious Leadership with Bina Jhaveri

Episode Transcript

Meredith Matics: Welcome to Business Reflections with your host Meredith Matics, and we are here to reflect on the business topics that are affecting you today and how you can better run your business. I have Bina Jhaveri, A to Zen Coaching. So Bina, tell us a little bit about what inspired you to starting your own company. 

Bina Jhaveri: Hi Meredith. Thank you so much.  I have this long background in corporate and I used to do a lot of marketing and management and strategy and brand and all of that stuff. I eventually became a consultant. I was very used to working with organizations on a larger, bigger scheme of supporting their overall goal processes and departmental processes and things like that. 

Over time, I started getting closer and closer to this idea of how powerful would it be if I could actually start creating impact on an individual level, like getting closer and closer to understanding how they really align with this process and what they're going through and how they could really truly support it versus being told this is what you have to do.  And I was burning out of what I was doing and it was actually my dad who planted that seed one day. He was like have you thought about life coaching? 

And I was like, what is that? And then I kind of looked into it and I thought it was so fascinating, but I literally sat on it for six months til one morning, I just woke up and had an epiphany. Like today is the day I'm going towards this. I've always been very intuitive that way. 

I got certified internationally and there was no looking back ever since.  It's been 10 years now. 

Meredith Matics: Oh my goodness.  

Bina Jhaveri: It's been a long, beautiful journey and it took me literally to my life calling. 

Meredith Matics: I know the topic that we wanted to talk about with you today is conscious leadership. So can you actually start us off by telling us what is conscious leadership?  

Bina Jhaveri: Absolutely.  What I truly believe today is that leadership is this big buzzword, and we're always talking about leadership. 

And I honestly believe to break this word up into just leading. When we talk about leading, it really starts with leading ourselves and our entire life and our way of being. Sometimes, we look at leadership as a role, but when I talk about conscious leadership, it's really about connecting how you show up every single day, how alive and awake you feel towards your own life as well as your value system and where you're taking that and how that supports you in every single compartment of your life. Whether that's how you show up as a leader in your career, how you show up as a leader as a parent, as a partner, or a friend or anything else that you do in your life. 

When you're really conscious about this what you're doing is you're moving forward with your entire being, your mind, your body and your spirit full force. And when you do that, you become absolutely unstoppable. 

Meredith Matics: Can you give us some like specific examples of conscious leadership? I know you mentioned like in your daily life and with your friendship, but what would be a really good example of somebody acting in conscious leadership.  

Bina Jhaveri: Yeah, that's a great, great question. A lot of things go into this and it's really turning more inward first. 

It's really aligning with how you show up every single day. For example, if you are that leader in your life, and then everything else becomes a touch point  in the way you operate through the day. You're really conscious about the vision that you want to create day to day. So when you set that pace for yourself, it becomes very deliberate in terms of how you also empower others. I have kind of these four cornerstones that really bring this to life. One is conscious vision.  The second is a deliberate empowerment of yourself and others through their strengths through creating an inclusive environment for people, deeply connecting to them, listening to them and really valuing their value system as well then also operating from these values.  

So whether it's again in your life, in your career, and all of that starts setting the pace for the goals. Even organizations have value systems and sometimes they're the mission and the vision, but a lot of times, the goals start feeling a lot more fragmented. Sometimes they connect, sometimes they don't, but to really have that value system inculcated down to the individuals in the organization as well is powerful. Getting them involved in the process, honoring boundaries, understanding people and what they bring to the table as well as then really seeing the fruits of all of that in next level of performance. Those are the four cornerstones. That's setting the conscious vision, deliberately empowering yourself and others, coming from a place of setting the highest values, and then actually seeing that next level of performance automatically come about versus trying to achieve it.  

Meredith Matics: Can you guide us through how being a good conscious leader of like, let's say a small business would play out in the day to day?  

Bina Jhaveri: Yeah, it's a great question. Because most of the time, when you think about a leader, a small business leader, what they're really going through is like stress. 

They're going through overwhelmed. They're fragmented. They're burnt out. They're like thinking about what is the next thing I can focus on or do. How do I get that next client? How do I put out that fire? The vision, if you notice is very very in the moment and shortsighted. When we talk about setting a conscious vision, you're really, really mindful of the bigger picture. You're actually able to bring your head up. 

When you're in an emotional state, for example of overwhelm, fatigue, exhaustion, or heightened emotion, your behaviors start to play out. You know exactly based on those emotions. 

Conscious leadership really allows you to become the intentional entrepreneur. When you're intentional, you're actually very conscious about what you're doing, when you're doing it, how you're doing it, and the effects of what you're doing. 

So you're either in a very powerful state of mind or you're in a fight or flight state of mind, it's completely different.  

Meredith Matics: So it's like moving your mindset from coming into work and opening up and being like, Oh my God, 300 emails. This one employee didn't show up and being like, okay, even though I am internally freaking out, what I want to present is - all right, I'm going to set aside. 

I'm going to present an essence of understanding, okay, this person's out. Why are they out? Is it critical? I'm going to be empathetic towards it and then I'm going to do things with a calm. Taking that second to take a step back. Is that what I'm hearing?  

Bina Jhaveri: Yeah. Part of it is that, and it's also about letting go of things you can't control. It's a shift in how we look at things, right? 

So if something happens, like you said, I love this example of somebody didn't come in and here we go again, I've got like 300 emails and it's like, I have to get through this, look at the language. Like I have to get through this. I've got all this stuff already in the, now this person didn't show up and now I have to take on this as well. 

Versus. Okay, I've got 300 emails. I get this beautiful opportunity. First of all, I have this thriving business and therefore I get this opportunity to come into a full email box. People want to work with me and do business with me and things are moving and flowing and I get the opportunity to pace myself. 

I'm the one who's either putting the pressure on myself or I'm the one who's saying, you know what, I've got this.   I'm going to figure out a system or a way or a strategy of what I can handle, what I need to offset, what somebody else can take on and I can delegate. 

And what really doesn't need to be looked at for another two days? So I've got it. It's something I can control. First of all, I'm just happy I get to come into this because that means I have a business. I have people who want to talk to me and I have a full inbox, you know? Cause the opposite wouldn't feel good either. Right? So then you ask yourself intentionally, what is it that would really then make me happy? 

What is it that I do want, if I don't want an empty inbox and I don't want a full inbox, what do I want? 

Yeah. And guess what you get that. You get to choose that. That's the power that we all hold so we need to unleash that power. Nobody sets those hard boundaries in us, except for ourselves. So it's like if your boundary is five emails, you get to decide, these are the five emails that I'm going to look at. 

But I think what happens is we let our minds take over and we're just looking at stuff and we're like, okay, I've got to do all this stuff every single day. That's when the overwhelm starts kicking in day in and day out.  

Meredith Matics: Right. What are some tips that small business owners could start trying to put into play to become a better conscious leader?  

Bina Jhaveri: I think one of the biggest things, which is so important, but it's basic is just rest. When I say rest, that is not like surfing online or talking on the phone. When I say rest, it's really about allowing your mind to also kind of quiet down, be in the moment, and connect to whatever it is that you are doing at that time.  

So if you're genuinely wanting to disconnect from work, it's so important to find things that will get you to feel like I actually am replenishing myself and that's different for everyone. You know, so. If it's being outdoors, if it's listening to music, if it's actually spending time with your family, if it's literally just tuning out and reading a good book, or listening to a podcast or even just turning inward and doing a little bit of journaling, meditating or taking a long bath. bigger things are also about being able to tune out and go inward, which a lot of people feel like the opposite. Oh, I'm winding down, I'm on my phone. I'm just surfing. But we don't realize how much stress actually is out there as well. There's a lot of things that we pick up on and we carry subconsciously with us as well. 

I would say rest is so important. And with that also comes a good night's sleep and and then also pausing, pausing through your day. Taking breaths, like lifting your head up, understanding that you are not a robot, you are a human being and you know, I think we tend to lose sight of these things. Simple things of just literally getting up and shaking your legs. 

I would say that's very important. I would say a powerful morning routine is key. How you start your day will probably set the pace of how you go through your day and then how you end your day. 

So it's very, very important to set a powerful morning routine of again, inculcating and invigorating your mind, your body, and spirits, especially for small business owners who have a lot of moving parts through the day. 

Meredith Matics: Yeah. What do you think is the reason that more people don't naturally fall into conscious leadership? 

Bina Jhaveri: Yeah, that's a really good point because I think, first of all, we have been told otherwise. We have been trained otherwise and we've conditioned our minds to be certain way. And by default, our minds will keep on negatively falling back on things. We always look for evidence first in the negative. 

That's the first thing that comes up for us. You know we've been train that leadership is all about, go, go, go, push, push, push. You gotta be this, person that is just relentless and doesn't stop and that's what ambition means and that's what high achieving means.  

But today it's really about disrupting a lot of these norms that have really hurt people over time and led to severe consequences for businesses, for business owners, for individuals.  

Meredith Matics: I've tried to shape my business around being productive and a conscious and an empathetic leader, but I think a lot of times we just expect the boss to, to be a certain way, as you said, and to fall into a stereotype of like I'm here. 

Bina Jhaveri: Yeah. Yeah.  

Meredith Matics: So what do you think is the longterm difference between companies that have leaders that are stern and ones that are empathetic and conscious in their leadership? 

Bina Jhaveri: Yeah. I think that the ones who are empathetic and conscious, it's definitely not just the future, but it's the now. These are the kinds of organizations that are not just thriving, but they're magnetic. They're attractive. They don't need to think about success. They're already beckoning success just because of the way that they are operating.  

The ones who are the stern and the hard ones, and that go, go, go - for whatever reason, they're going to become a dying breed because it will have devastating effects on their wellbeing or eventually people aren't going to want to be a part of that kind of leadership, right?  

So, I really believe that this is where the world is, this is what's required, and this is where it's going. That's where all the magic is. The beautiful thing to understand here on a deeper level is that most people are in business because they want to be profitable. They want to be successful. They want to create a legacy perhaps. They want to create impact. And all of this stuff is about doing, like, I need to do this in order to get this result. That's another formula that's been so ingrained in us, like do something first and then you get something and then you can be something. 

It's actually the opposite. When you were being a certain way, the magnetism, the attractiveness, the flow and all of that automatically sets the pace and you don't even have to worry about the outcomes and the results because they come to you. 

Meredith Matics: Yeah, being a conscious leader has changed at all amidst the pandemic?  

Bina Jhaveri: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think a lot of people who were not aware of being more intuitive, being more intentional, being more conscious are starting to wake up to that. 

I know a lot more leaders have raised their hands in 2020 and asked for support and help than ever before, like, my business may not survive unless something is done differently and I need the tools and I need the resources. 

So they've reached out to coaches, to mentors, to experts. They're looking everywhere to get that support so I definitely think that 2020 has had a huge impact on on leaders, leadership and where organizations have had to pivot and where they're going now. 

Meredith Matics: What do you think will be the long-term effect of that? How do you think it's going to look in our future?  

Bina Jhaveri: I actually think this is going to create a very beautiful imprint. People who are understanding this and tuning into this, are setting a beautiful example for years to come. This is what the world needs today. It's all about all of us coming together, creating more connection, being inclusive of each other, respecting each other, respecting boundaries and honoring that honoring wellbeing and also collaborating and co-creating.  

Today it's like we're all in this together and everybody matters. And when you do that, you're actually creating a ripple effect when it comes to impact and creating transformation and change. And you're taking them to a level of championship, and you're really setting the bar where everyone gets to operate at their most powerful self.  

Meredith Matics: So Bina, what is one piece of advice that you've received personally, that you want to share with another business owner?  

Bina Jhaveri: A piece of advice that I would really love to share and I again say this with all my heart is, is that don't think you have to do every single thing by yourself. 

Don't think that you have to put everything on your own two shoulders because that heaviness is heavy. Ask for support, invest in yourself, invest in others around you, help empower other people to create wealth as well. 

Everyone gets to grow and enjoy a great life when everything is divided on equal shoulders. People who have expertise get to demonstrate that and help you move closer to where you want to go faster. This has been a huge, huge, huge thing in my business. Once I started understanding this, it changed everything for me, because a lot of people are small businesses are solopreneurs and it just gets to be a lot of pressure. 

Meredith Matics: Where can our listeners learn more about you?  

Bina Jhaveri: I am actually all over social media so I do have a website as well. It's atozencoaching.com. I'm on Facebook as BIna Jhaveri. I have a business page there, it's AtoZenCoaching. I'm on Instagram as well as LinkedIn. So I'm actually everywhere. Either they can find me as Bina Jhaveri, or they can look up A to Zen Coaching and I'm most happy to connect with them.  

Meredith Matics: Well, thank you so much Bina for coming on our podcast today and sharing your thoughts on conscious leadership. I hope that more of us will start to try to one step at a time, become a conscious leader. 

Bina Jhaveri: Absolutely. Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure being here.  

Business Reflections Closing: Please note that these are thoughts and opinions alone. For tax advice, please see your CPA or tax advisor, tax professional for business advice and legal entities. Please see your local business, lawyer, or attorney for advice. And if you'd like to reach out to us for any topics or questions about. Any subject, any episode you can reach us podcast@maticsbilling.com. That's podcast@maticsbilling.com.    

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