Do you have the techniques and the mindset you need to take the lead? How do you keep your team aligned, engaged, and inspired? Awake Leadership presents a system of seven vitals and exercises for leading with clarity and creativity. While other leadership books detail qualities of excellent leaders, this guide shows how to lead through a progression of specific practices and exercises. Each section of the guidebook contains interactive exercises with examples and tips for putting the seven leadership vitals into action.
Hilary Jane Grosskopf developed the Awake Leadership system and exercises as an emerging, visionary leader in business looking to lead differently. As a team member and rising leader, Hilary found that leaders often lead with too much structure or too much freedom. She realized that modern leaders need practices and exercises that work for both aligning and motivating their team in order to achieve objectives and make progress. As a leader seeking to find a balance between achievement and enjoyment, she developed this practical, creative guidebook to help leaders of all ages and backgrounds lead with more ease and enthusiasm.
The seven vitals of Awake Leadership are inspired by the Chakra system, an ancient system of yoga philosophy. Just as the seven chakras are vitals for energetic alignment and life balance, the seven Awake Leadership vitals cover the spectrum of practices for successful leadership in action. It is a system for finding optimal balance as a leader in the dynamic world of business. While half the exercises are team exercises, the other half are individual exercises for strengthening your leadership. Work through the guidebook to find the right balance between providing structure and freedom for yourself and for your team in order to make optimal progress.
Awake Leadership provides aspiring and rising leaders with the foundation they need to start their leadership journey. The guidebook gives current leaders guidance and actions for revitalizing their leadership to better align and motivate a team. Take the lead of your work, your career, your team, and your life. Enjoy the process and the results.
Hello book lovers! Today is a day where I will be writing another author spotlight for a well-accomplished author whose work I have loved. As you know book lovers I love learning about authors and the inspiration behind their work, it fascinates me and adds to the depth of the book because the reader will be able to better understand it. That is how the author spotlights were created because I soon discovered that you lovely readers ALSO love learning about author’s, so I am excited to tell you a little bit more about author Hilary Jane Grosskopf whose book Awake Leadership informed and charmed me from beginning to end. I personally would recommend this book to all of those that love business books but really the book can be read by anybody as it is flawlessly written and highly enjoyable. With today’s author spotlight, a biography of the author and an interview between me and Hilary Jane Grosskopf will be shared, and I hope that you book lovers enjoy reading it! To kick this off here is an author bio about the wonderful Hilary Jane Grosskopf!
Hilary Jane Grosskopf is a leadership strategist, writer, yoga teacher, and founder of Awake Leadership Solutions. Hilary earned her undergraduate and masters degrees in systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Hilary began her career as a systems engineer in the corporate world of retail and soon realized that leading a team is often the most challenging aspect of working in a company. Modern leaders are not equipped with the systems, skills, and mindset they need to truly succeed. As a leader, Hilary developed essential systems and exercises to guide and motivate her team toward greater productivity, growth, and engagement.
Hilary’s company, Awake Leadership Solutions, helps leaders build the teams of their dreams, reach their objectives, and strengthen their leadership skills. Her mission is to educate and inspire leaders seeking more ethical, mindful, and creative leadership practices. She is the author of Awake Leadership: A System for Leading with Clarity and Creativity and Awake Ethics: A System for Aligning Your Actions with Your Core Intentions.
Learn more about Hilary and Awake Leadership Solutions at www.awakeleadershipsolutions.com.
Now, how wonderful does Hilary Jane Grosskopf sound?! Hilary Jane Grosskopf is a truly exceptional writer and I hope that you lovely readers have a read of the author’s work because you will not regret it! Please see below an interview between me and the author and I hope that you enjoy Hilary Jane Grosskopf’s answers to my questions, they are incredible and provide some great advice too!
Thank you for joining us today at Red Headed Book Lover! Please tell us more about yourself.
Happy to be here! I’m Hilary Jane Grosskopf. I’m a leadership strategist, author, and yoga teacher. I have written and published two guidebooks for leaders and aspiring leaders. My first book is called Awake Leadership and my second book is called Awake Ethics.
I’m also an entrepreneur. The mission of my company, Awake Leadership Solutions, is to educate and inspire leaders seeking more ethical, mindful, and creative leadership practices. I help leaders to strengthen their leadership skills, achieve their objectives, and build dream teams.
Could you please tell us readers about your book, Awake Leadership, and what inspired you to write your book?
Awake Leadership is a guidebook for leaders seeking to lead with a balance of clarity and creativity. During my time working in the corporate world, I found that many leaders lead with either too much or too little structure. Some leaders are great at providing direction and guidance, but they micromanage and don’t give space for independence and creative freedom. Team members often become frustrated and leave the team because they feel limited in their ability to experiment and grow. Other leaders are very chill and provide autonomy, but don’t provide enough guidance or direction for team members. In this case, team members also become frustrated because they don’t understand their responsibilities. Individual and collective progress suffers.
When I became a leader, I decided that I needed to find a way to give each of my team members a balance of structure and freedom. I needed techniques for providing direction and techniques for providing inspiration. Also, I realized that there isn’t a lot of guidance for new leaders about how to start leading! Leadership is a pretty new field and leadership is largely learned while in the field, on the job. However, new leaders crave advice and guidance. New leaders need a place to start in order to feel confident that they can lead successfully. The Awake Leadership guidebook is a place to start; it’s a resource for building a strong leadership practice. I developed the system of seven vitals and exercises based on my experience as a leader. The system is a resource for new and experienced leaders seeking to strengthen their leadership and foster a culture of collaboration. The seven vitals are Vision, Support, Structure, Tools, Context, Inspiration, and Freedom. The collection of seven vitals is essential for a balance and successful leadership practice.
What would your advice be for aspiring writers?
Write every day! A daily writing practice is essential for keep the continuity of your writing practice and honing your writing skills. I started writing because I needed a morning practice that helped me mentally prepare for my day. Writing for just 20-30 minutes each morning is a great way to start writing and develop your writing practice.
Also, read every day! Great writers are usual avid readers. Reading keeps us inspired. As we read, we learn how to effectively articulate information. This helps us to improve our own writing so it resonates with others. My favorite authors are some of my most influential teachers.
Finally, share your writing! When you’re ready (don’t wait too long), start a blog or write a book. Even if it’s a fun project or experiment, start sharing your writing with others. Get used to sharing your writing and asking for feedback.
In your opinion, what is the most important thing about a book?
A book is inspiring if it sparks a realization or a transformational change for the reader.
What is your writing process like?
My writing process is definitely a creative process in itself. I am most creative and productive early in the morning. I go to bed early and get 8 hours of sleep. I have a morning routine, where I wake up, do some light yoga and make coffee. This simple routine prepares me physically and mentally to begin writing first thing in the morning. I am most productive between 6am and 10am.
I also have my own daily creative habits that inspire my writing. Coffee is of course essential. I also watch a lot of movies. I do yoga 4-5 days per week on my own or with a class. I meditate. I take walks in nature. When I am in need of inspiration, I read or I Mind Map (a technique I talk about a lot in Awake Leadership!). Whatever it takes to keep the creativity and energy flowing!
Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?
Yes, I do read a lot. As I mentioned before, I think all active authors are also active readers. Early in my career, I read almost one book per week. I still read a lot between writing projects. Now, I don’t read a lot while I’m writing a book; however, I still read daily whether it’s an article online or one chapter of a new book.
I read a lot of non-fiction in the business and leadership categories. I also read a lot of spiritual texts, biographies, and memoirs. I always enjoy learning from others that share their personal life stories. I do read fiction as well. I love Jhumpa Lahiri’s writing style.
Lastly, when can we readers expect to read more wonderful books from you?
I’m currently working on my third leadership guidebook that will be available this fall. Keep a look out on awakeleadershipsolutions.com or follow us on Instagram for the official launch!
Its official book lovers, I am obsessed with Hilary Jane Grosskopf! If you have liked what you have read about the author and are interested in learning more, then please do have a browse of the links below and be sure to have a read of the preview too! You will not regret it.
Goodbye for now book lovers,
