Using Your Developing Leadership Cards

Use 1: Daily Reflection Tool

Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Late in the day, shuffle the deck and without looking at the face side of the cards, choose a card. Look at it, noting the word and the image. You may be more attracted to the word or to the image. Either is fine. Ask yourself “what does this card convey to me about my leadership development today?’. Take some time in silent reflection, a couple of minutes works well, and then write down your thoughts. You are stimulating intuitive intelligence as well as bringing your leadership development to your conscious awareness, thereby strengthening it.

Use 2: Periodic Reflection Tool

Suggested Time: 30 minutes

Gain more insight about your leadership development on a weekly, monthly or seasonal basis.. Shuffle the deck without looking at the face side of the cards, and choose three cards. The first card you draw represents ‘past’, the second ‘present’ and the third ‘future’. Turn the cards face up. Pick up the card for ‘past’ and reflect about your leadership development in the past. What thoughts come up for you? Record them. Repeat for the following cards for present & future. Next, allow your thoughts to free-flow about what you are noticing about your leadership development. You are stimulating intuitive intelligence as well as bringing your leadership development to your conscious awareness, thereby strengthening it.

Use 3: Creating Intentional Focus

Suggested Time: 1 Minute + 10 Minutes

At the start of the day choose a card without looking at the face side of the card until you have made your choice. Make the intention of working with what is on the card regarding leadership development throughout the day. Via this intentional focus, you will discover opportunities to put this aspect of your leadership to work, giving you the opportunity to learn more about this aspect of leadership. Take a photo of the card, keep it in a pocket or purse, or put it on your desk to refer to through the day. At the end of the day, take ten minutes in silence to reflect on what your learning was in relation to the intentional focus, and write down your key reflections. You are stimulating intuitive intelligence as well as bringing your leadership development to your conscious awareness, thereby strengthening it.

Use 4: Important Conversations

Suggested Time: 30-60 Minutes

Invite important conversations by using the cards in your group. Shuffle cards, place facedown on a flat surface (i.e. floor). As people enter, ask them to choose a card. Once each person has a card, ask a question such as ‘what is this card conveying to you about leadership?’. Give time to reflect in silence for 2 minutes. Ask them to share any reflections they feel comfortable in sharing with the group. This provides the opportunity for important conversations about leadership. Making regular use of the cards helps the group to collaborate in its leadership development. Together, knowledge about leadership and leadership development is brought to conscious awareness. This strengthens all involved in their leadership development, in accessing intuitive intelligence, and in freeing the group members up to engage in important conversations.

Use 5: Transfer In

Suggested Time: 30 Minutes

Before a meeting, shuffle the deck, laying the cards face down on a flat surface (i.e. floor). At the start of the meeting invite each person to choose a card thus inviting their intuition to make the choice. Next, ask a focusing question related to the meeting. i.e. if it is about strategic planning, the question could be ‘what does this card convey to you about strategic planning?’. Ask the people to reflect for 2 minutes, taking notes if they wish. Next ask them to meet in pairs. In the small group time, they are to share what they wish about their reflections for about 10 minutes. Then, each pair presents key points identified. The whole group then has the benefit of sharing this existing knowledge of the meeting subject. Thus, people, by using these cards, quickly transfer in to the meeting and to the knowledge already existing about the key subject.

Use 6: Group Reflection

Suggested Time: 15 Minutes

At the end of a meeting, shuffle the cards, invite participants to choose a card intuitively as the cards are face down. Ask people to reflect in silence for a minute about what they noticed about their individual and collective leadership during the meeting. During the closing of the meeting, every person has the opportunity to share their reflections. If time is limited, this sharing can be limited to one point per person. This builds further conscious awareness and strengthening of leadership development.

Consider using a journal to write down your reflections about leadership development. Going through the journal, once a season or annually is one way to track your development. Another way to track your development is to make a chart keeping track of the cards that you pull. Some of the cards may show up frequently while other might not show up at all. Seasonally or annually, look at the chart of the cards tracking what you have pulled, and reflect about what you are noticing. Year over year charts are fascinating for tracking your development.

While working with The Genuine Contact Developing Leadership Cards, you are accessing the story about leadership and leadership development…the story you tell yourself with increasing clarity from your conscious awareness of the story; the story of the past, of the present, and of the future. In a group setting, including a family, together you access the story about leadership that exists in the group, even subconsciously. When you access story, you access assumptions, beliefs, and you can gain clarity about how story affects the actions and behaviors that you witness and participate in. Once you’ve accessed the story, its up to you to decide if you want to keep this story...or write a new one. One that is more supportive of you achieving your goals.