Cultivating Command Presence

(Photo: Kari Greer/USFS)

I was recently listening to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned podcast and came across this episode about “Command Presence”. In the interview they discuss the definition of command presence and how to cultivate it. One of the conclusions of the conversation was that, in order to cultivate powerful command presence, you need to be able to be comfortable and confident with your own style of leadership. The podcast started me reflecting about the ways that I ground my own leadership style. Two thoughts jumped out at me:

1. Last year I traveled to the training center in Redmond, Oregon and took the L-480 with a bunch of inspired leaders from across the country. One guy in particular stoked my fire for many reasons. Not only is this individual a kind, generous and intelligent human but he creates time for himself every day. Most mornings this guy gets up at 4:30 and gets a workout in before his kids and wife get up. I thought, “If this guy can do it, so can I.”
2. Just before I left for the L-480, one of my best friends gave me a copy of Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod . Although I thought the book was poorly written, the concept is very strong. The premise is, that if you start your day off right, the rest falls into place from there.

So here is what I have done: I’ve developed a morning routine that I have in my back pocket. It’s really empowering to know that I can get up any morning and start the day off right. I don’t always incorporate all the steps but the more I do and the more consistently I complete this routine, the more comfortable I feel as a leader. I mix up the duration and order of the steps and it still seems to work fine.

My challenge for you this week: Take 5 minutes for each of these SAVERS. Commit to trying it for 5 days and see how you feel. Get up 30 minutes earlier and make it happen!

I’ve attached someone’s notes from Morning Miracle that I found helpful. Below are some links to help get you started:

Silence:

Here are some really simple mini meditations from Headspace.com.

Affirm:

Jack Canfield on setting meaningful affirmations (6:01)

Basically, just be conscious about the messages you are telling yourself. Say some good stuff to yourself for 5 minutes. Sound stupid? Maybe, but what do you have to lose...unconscious negative self-talk?

Visualize:

Spend a few minutes writing or talking about what big picture things you want to create in your life. I usually roll this into my ‘Scribing’ but also really get a charge from consciously talking about my large goals and ambitions with people throughout my day.

Exercise:

Here are some free 30-minute, surf-inspired workouts I love.

You don’t need any equipment and Luke Steadman, the coach is a positive, awesome human.

If I don’t do one of these workouts, I usually go outside and go for a 5-10 minute power walk and swing my arms around a bunch.

Read:

Here are a few of my favorite, inspiring books. 

Richard Wagamese “Embers” – This book is NEXT LEVEL morning inspiration.

Yvonne Chouinard “Let My People Go Surfing” – Inspiring business and social change from the guy who has clothed several generations of both dirtbags and yuppies .

Colin Angus “Beyond the Horizon” – The true adventure of my friend who completed the first human powered circumnavigation of the globe.

Scribe:

Richard Wagamese is the Canadian behind the critically acclaimed and heartbreaking movie “Indian Horse”. He has some incredible advice about writing in his book “Embers” that I mentioned above.

“Write spontaneously every day for fifteen minutes. First, get settled. Breathe. Big, deep, full breaths, taken slowly. Clear your mind of words. Be wordless. Then, open your eyes and write whatever comes out of you, and keep writing without taking your hands from the paper or the keyboard for fifteen minutes. Don’t worry about punctuation or spelling. Just write. Every day. Fifteen minutes. Regardless. Watch what happens to your level of craft when you work on a project. Why? Because stories live in our bodies and we need to feel our fingers moving in the process of creation every day. Your hands are your interpretive tools. They bring your spirit out in words and language.”

Creating time for, and connecting with, your true self is part of creating strong leadership. When you work at being comfortable in your own skin, the people you lead notice.

As always, please send me your comments and feedback. Regardless of how short or long your responses are, they are much appreciated.

Have an inspired week.

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Erik Hanson is a Wildfire Technician with BC Wildfire and co-author of Cool to Be Kind: Random Acts and How to Commit Them. All thoughts are those of the author and not this page or his employer.