Leading Effectively from the Center: An Interview with Thomas Crum
by Kali Saposnick

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During the 1960s, when the Soviet Union became the first country to put a man in space, American scientists were deadlocked in a debate about why the United States couldn't match that accomplishment. In a catalytic moment, President John F. Kennedy articulated the vision that America would put a man on the moon within the decade. Suddenly, the context of the debate shifted, and Americans began to think optimistically about how to accomplish that ambitious goal. Through his inspirational leadership style, Kennedy stimulated effective problem solving, and soon one of the most brilliant engineering feats in human history transpired.

How did Kennedy succeed where others had failed? When leaders are able to harness the energy of thousands of people to achieve a great goal, they have what martial artist Thomas Crum calls "the power of centering." Centering is having the presence of mind to take action and communicate in ways that create unity and collaboration. People such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa exemplify this type of behavior.

The author of The Magic of Conflict (Touchstone, 1987) and cofounder and president of Aiki Works, Crum asserts that centering provides leaders with the most important skill they need today—awareness of complexity. "In a complex world, things come at you in many different ways and layers," he explains. "Without the awareness that events don't always happen logically or follow a deductive timeframe, one is going to get knocked over and make less powerful, effective decisions." By finding that centered point within us—something he believes all of us can do—we can maintain our composure in challenging situations, communicate convincingly, and lead appropriately.

Moving from Regrettable to Rewarding Behavior
Crum travels around the world teaching people how to center by integrating the mind, body, and spirit so they can absorb information at a calm, deep place. "Centering doesn't come simply from a massive intellect," the martial artist says. "It's an actual skill, not a thought. It takes daily practice."

He starts people off by having them explore and monitor their awareness of being centered through experiential exercises. "When you're centered, you're more conscious of the weight underneath your arms and feet. Gravity is like a waterfall flowing through you," Crum explains. Then he encourages participants to do centering exercises regularly, such as breathing and mindfulness training. These activities create a strong neurological pathway between what emotional intelligence theorists describe as the reactive part of our brain and our composed thinking.

Soon participants are able to consciously override their knee-jerk responses to complex situations. "We can pause long enough to recognize we have other alternatives than bludgeoning someone mentally or emotionally," Crum says. "We can choose between force and peaceful reconciliation." And we can stop repeatedly doing things we regret. In other words, centering helps us learn from our emotions rather than let them control us.

This skill is particularly helpful when confronting someone who has upset us. Typically, people operate out of anger, which makes the other person defensive. If we're centered, however, a confrontation can bring about understanding and reconciliation and also connect us to what is really important. "For example," Crum says, "If I yell at you because you're late, I make you feel diminished and angry. But when I'm centered, I might say, 'I appreciate your willingness to talk about this issue. I personally get upset when I'm forced to wait because I feel that possibly I or the project we're doing together is not being valued. My need is to have a great relationship where we do good work and value one another.' The first approach causes a negative reaction, the second builds communication."

Experiencing the Power of Centered Creativity
If being centered is important for leading in challenging situations, why don't more people seek it out? According to Crum, one reason is that most people still think in limited, self-righteous ways: Instead of listening, we debate, trying to prove ourselves right and others wrong, wasting mental energy, and limiting decision-making opportunities. This behavior often occurs in team meetings, where one person always seems to object to ideas and inhibit productivity. By centering, Crum says, we can creatively break the impasse this individual causes. We might restructure the meetings to find a constructive function for him. "Instead of allowing him to be a scud missile, objecting any time he wants, put him on an agenda item as a quality control expert," Crum suggests. If he and the other participants agree on this role, people will more likely consider his insights about a plan's likely unintended consequences, and he won't indiscriminately burst the bubble of possibility.

Another reason Crum feels more people don't pursue centering is the lack of models in our culture of this kind of activity. There's little opportunity for people to see centered behavior exhibited. Plus, most of us haven't been taught centering skills, and few people teach and articulate them. But Crum feels that personal experience is convincing. When people witness the effects of centering on leadership, decision-making, stress management, and so forth in their organizational culture, they will make it a priority. "If you've had a personal experience of deep clarity and mindfulness, you'd want it again."

Kali Saposnick is publications editor at Pegasus Communications.