Is Eastern Wisdom the Key to Unlocking Western Business Success?

Often in Western culture, success is equated to a big bottom line. Big profits equal big success…. or does it?  Whether you are a solopreneur, SME, founder of a Not for Profit, or even a CEO of a larger company, the question of leadership and what success really means is causing some in business to take a beat and consider if there’s more to ‘success’ than mere profits. 

In short, many are wondering if we are focusing on the right things to stay resilient and competitive in an ever-changing, uncertain world.

CEOs in Crisis

 Even if you are a small or micro business, you are the CEO. Crisis naturally creates instability and CEOs of all shapes and sizes are feeling the squeeze. In times of crisis, it is the leader of an organisation that everyone looks to for guidance. According to the latest survey conducted by management consulting company DDI:

• CEOs’ self-reported confidence has dropped by more than 20%
• a decline in confidence directly impacts CEOs’ key skills of influence and delegation
• these skills are key factors in helping prevent and mitigate employee burnout

DDI’s Leadership Report 2021 revealed that across the globe, leaders need development and support to be more effective in their roles. It revealed that CEOs become 8 times more effective with leadership training. But as we have seen in the political landscape, not all leadership training is created equal.

Because the role of the owner/CEO is the most visible in the organisation, there is an unspoken expectation of self-regulation – to be resilient and able to cope under pressure.

Unlike many C-Suite executives or middle managers, owners and CEOs are less likely to have a mentor/coach or any leadership training to support them in their leadership role. Especially when it comes to SMEs and NFPs.

So, this begs the question:  who leads and supports the leader?

The Holistic Leader

According to the Harvard Business Review, leaders with mentorship support are:

• 71% more likely to improve company performance 
• 69% more likely to make better decisions
• 84% more likely to avoid costly mistakes and be more proficient in their roles

It recommends ‘mentor matching’ from former or more proficient leaders for the ‘sharing of CEO war stories’ as the way forward. 

Sadly, in Western culture, the default, even with mentors, is to focus on performance, with key performance indicators limited to financial and operational success… which feels like only half the ‘leader’ is being nurtured.

According to McKinsey’s latest research, – mindset ‘is in fact, most important if you want to lead successful and sustainable change at scale’.

And this is where Eastern philosophies come to the fore. 

Finding the Right Balance

Let’s face it, as a business owner you are busy building an empire with little time to devote to personal health and relationships let alone personal development. The on-the-ground reality is that you are likely stuck in an endless cycle of needing to be all things to all people and your personal needs and relationships are at the bottom of a long list of competing demands. 

The false promises sold in the West of entrepreneurship being the mecca for your personal happiness, success, and even self-realisation are way off the mark. Ask any entrepreneur. 

The concept of ‘work-life balance’ touted in the early 90s and 2000s has proven hollow. If anything, it creates more anxiety about not having balance.

So, what is the right balance and how can it be practically implemented? 

My Eat-Love-Pray Story

As a former corporate lawyer turned social-preneur I have been both an employee and business owner in high-pressure environments. With a 16+ year legal career in the top law firms in the UK and Australia, I experienced working 22+ hour days for months at a time with no respite. 

With no good strategies to manage the ever-increasing demands, I burned out. With no solutions from Western medicine and desperate to find a way out, I retreated to India on my own version of the ‘eat-pray-love’ story. 

For over a decade I studied with Eastern masters; learning practices that restored my physical and mental wellbeing and gave me deep insights into the workings of the mindset.

I learned that as humans, we are a complicated, interrelated system of mind, body, and spirit and each of these three core aspects of self must be firing to reach sustainable peak performance. A very different perspective of  ‘performance’ compared to Western culture that worships the intellect alone when it comes to success. 

What Lessons Can We Learn From The East? 

Mindset is key when it comes to business success. But it is not the panacea it’s touted to be.

Every leader and entrepreneur I have ever worked with who has sought support with business performance has also been facing challenges at home. Everything is interlinked, but Western culture puts this in your blind spot. 

Without a holistic approach, it’s not possible to up-level your business. I call it ‘managing the business of self’. Once you master this, the rest of your life and business can break through to new levels of excellence, inspiration, and motivation.

Three Ways For Western Entrepreneurs To Adapt

1. Mindset shift – ‘lean inwards’ to train your mindset to drive your outcome  
2. Prioritise your personal mental health and well-being – to avoid burnout 
3. Get a holistically trained mentor – who can support both your internal mindset and external performance development for peak performance and a competitive edge.