"There is no one way to be a leader."
Susan Bennett Fisher has been a lifelong student of personal transformation. She obtained her degree in Mathematical Economics from Brown University and her MBA/MA in Finance and International Management from the Lauder Institute at the Wharton School of Business.
She then pursued a career in management consulting, high-tech marketing, finance, and operations in Silicon Valley. Despite her achievements, this career did not feed Susan’s need for a deeper knowledge of her purpose, nor did it yield any real sense of fulfillment.
When Susan’s Natural Number 6 was first activated at the Coaches Training Institute’s Leadership Program in 2002, she knew she had found her purpose. She has continued as a pioneer in the study and research into the 9 Natural Numbers, which has led to many new discoveries and a deeper understanding of the importance, power, and impact of Body of 9.
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Table of Contents
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone you’d like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Susan Bennett Fisher: We recently got involved with Adriana Monique Alvarez’s publishing programs. We are supporting all the authors in her current book projects to identify their Natural Numbers and put their individual wisdom in context to enable more readers to connect to and understand their offerings. We are also being featured on a half-dozen podcasts in the upcoming months.
So, the word is getting out about the Body of 9 and our evolutionary system. Last year was about laying the foundation to support our partners, and this year it’s about making our partners more successful!
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Susan Bennett Fisher: We have a team in place now of people who each have their particular expertise and who also truly understand our Body of 9 system and its impact. We walk our talk at Body of 9 – all voices get heard and honored, and each person is supported to bring their gift forward in their role. As a result, it is all the members of our team that are the bedrock of our current success.
For example, Jamie, a Natural Number 5, keeps our social media understandable and receivable for all, offering the everyday wisdom built into our system for general consumption. Ashley, a Natural Number 2, does all our PR and outreach. She has been amazing in the role of our connection to the outside world, using her powerful ability to engage with people to generate awareness and interest in what we are doing.
Each person on the team brings the gifts of their nature into the role they play on the team. This creates a fulfilled and happy staff and a positive and productive work environment.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Susan Bennett Fisher: Getting the most out of your team without resulting in burnout is a big challenge. When you are asking people to work on a promise, to bring their energy and light to your organization, empowerment, and acknowledgment of each contribution, makes a big difference.
Understanding the talents, gifts, and skills of each member that come naturally – by understanding their Natural Number – enables you to create a workplace where people step up happily and easily, aligned with themselves and with the organization. Of course, anybody can attempt any function in an organization, but how each person performs, how they are motivated, and what they care about will be different based on their innate Natural Number.
Creating an environment for growth and fulfillment is key to the expansion of the organization through the evolution of its people. Turn-over and burn-out can cause an organization to collapse under pressure, and this happens when the only incentive is promised money. People need to enjoy their relationships at work, feel valued and useful, and be aligned with the goals and values of the organization to prevent burnout and disillusionment.
Lastly, knowing that building teams consisting of all 9 Natural Numbers provides balance and a level of harmony unavailable to teams that are missing one or more of the Natural Numbers. This can also help entrepreneurs avoid mistakes by getting all nine perspectives involved in supporting the organization.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Susan Bennett Fisher: Resilience is the ability to reconnect to your nature, your purpose, and your center in the face of adversity. This can be done through your body. Research into the Body of 9 has revealed that each of us has nine centers in the body, and one is born more active than the other 8.
This is what we call your Natural Number. It shapes how you move, how your body grows and develops, as well as your skills, talents, and values which are influenced by your Natural Number. We have developed some simple exercises that help you use this part of your body to recover when you get triggered or upset.
The ability to recover in the face of adversity is what defines resilience. Can you get back up after you fall or fail? It turns out your body is the leader in resilience, and it is done differently depending on which Natural Number you have.
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Susan Bennett Fisher: We see a multi-national organization dedicated to the evolution of our human experience. Body of 9 will be an organization that is the steward of the knowledge, research, teaching, and exploration that comes when we understand how our bodies are equipped and how to use this for a more compassionate and accepting human experience.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Susan Bennett Fisher: I would say that the core attributes of being a Natural Number 6 are the keys to my success – the power to move people toward what is significant, and the ability to synthesize input from a community or group of people in order to know what to do next.
Another key to my success came from learning to activate all nine Natural Numbers in my own body. This has enabled me to communicate more deeply and clearly with people, to connect and engage with others These skills are not naturally in my wheelhouse but are critical to success.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his own brand?
Susan Bennett Fisher: Understanding who you are, the purpose, gifts, and skills that define you, enables you to develop an authentic personal brand that is compelling and real. It’s not about your image, but about who you are and what you are being.
People are attracted to real authenticity, and they will follow you if you align with yourself and your purpose. If this is the basis of your brand, then yes, it’s super important. If it’s just about image, and not aligned with your true power and gifts, then it will not be credible.
How would you define “leadership”?
Susan Bennett Fisher: Leadership can look very different. Leadership can vary depending on your Natural Number, what you define as your purpose, what you are trying to lead toward, and who you are wanting to lead. People of each Natural Number value different aspects of leadership and offer different ways of leading. There is no one way to be a leader. For example, a Natural Number 1 will lead by honoring and valuing all contributors.
They will build and foster relationships and value loyalty and respect. Whereas a Natural Number 8 leader will value contribution, doing what you committed to doing, taking responsibility for your part, and building and creating with integrity and safety. Each Natural Number has different important qualities that will mark their leadership style.
What is most important is that you lead from the skills, values, and purpose that stem from your nature, which will enable you to lead effectively with authenticity. An effective leader also understands that differing behaviors, values, and ways of being are equally important and can be equally effective at leadership.
What would you say is the main difference between starting a business at the time you started yours and starting the business in today’s age?
Susan Bennett Fisher: Body of 9 has evolved significantly over the last 12 years. It was originally created as a non-profit but with the shift in the business model of non-profits over the last 10 years, it became clear that this model was not going to provide the opportunity for growth and stewardship needed to enable Body of 9 to grow.
Because Body of 9 is evolutionary in nature, it is difficult to predict what will be needed to move forward in the most dynamic way. Today, we need to be able to adjust direction and investment fluidly.
As we evolve as a management team, and as the world evolves with its understanding and impact from Body of 9, the changes are hard to anticipate. We only know that they will lead us in a direction that we cannot yet imagine and our job is to be ready for what comes.
What’s your favorite “leadership” quote and how has it affected the way you implement your leadership style?
Susan Bennett Fisher: My favorite leadership quote is probably one that came from my own experience.
“Your life is made up of the sum of your days – do something that matters to you each day, then when you get to the end, your life will have mattered to you!”
I adopted this philosophy in my thirties when I woke up one day to find that my life had become a terrible mess. In the process of extracting myself from this mess, creating the alignment and joy that I now experience in life, I started, one step at a time, to construct a life in alignment with who I am, and who I am meant to be.
I reclaimed the power and purpose I had felt in my youth one day at a time. I am creating the life I want to live so that my life makes a difference, to me, my loved ones, and to those whom I have the honor of touching.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Susan Bennett Fisher for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Susan Bennett Fisher or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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