Why 3-6-9? The Daily Rhythm of Aligned Leadership

Return to rhythm. Rediscover the Pulse of Conscious Leadership.

Leadership today moves at a pace that often fragments us. Between back-to-back meetings, constant notifications, and the pressure to produce, many leaders find themselves operating on autopilot, reacting rather than responding, speaking rather than transmitting, doing rather than being. And yet, beneath all the noise, there is rhythm.

Rhythm is nature’s original intelligence. We see it in the tide, the breath, the pulse, the seasons. When rhythm is present, energy flows. When it fractures, we feel scattered, tired, off-center. The same is true in leadership.

This is where the 3-6-9 practice enters, not as a mystical framework, but as a simple, repeatable rhythm for staying aligned with your values, your vision, and your frequency throughout the day. Inspired in part by Nikola Tesla’s fascination with these numbers, the 3-6-9 pattern offers leaders a way to pause, recalibrate, and lead from coherence, not reaction.

It’s not another task on your to-do list. It’s a pattern you return to, like a heartbeat, so your leadership doesn’t drift from who you are.

In this article, we’ll explore why rhythm is essential to conscious leadership, how the 3-6-9 practice works, and how you can begin integrating it into your daily flow starting today.

Section 1: Rhythm as a Leadership Technology

We tend to associate leadership with vision, goals, and outcomes. But what if leadership is also about tempo? About the steady pulse that guides how we move, think, and relate throughout the day?

Leadership, like music, has a beat. Some leaders operate in frantic staccato, sharp, reactive, constantly shifting. Others move with a steadier tempo, measured, grounded, intentional. The difference isn’t just felt. It’s contagious.

Rhythm brings order to complexity. It allows leaders to create spaciousness even in fast-moving environments. And when rhythm is intentional, it can become a form of leadership technology: a reliable signal that helps people feel safe, focused, and connected.

The 3-6-9 practice is one such rhythm. It acts as a scaffold for presence, offering three touchpoints throughout the day to return to alignment.

Section 2: The Origins and Meaning of 3-6-9

Nikola Tesla famously spoke of the numbers 3, 6, and 9 as holding the key to the universe. While interpretations of his meaning vary, the deeper principle is clear: these numbers represent a pattern of repetition and energetic flow that mirrors nature itself.

In many contemplative traditions, triads and cycles appear as tools of transformation. There is a wisdom in the repetition of threes, in morning, midday, and evening; in breath (inhale, pause, exhale); in life phases (birth, growth, death). When we observe nature closely, we see that rhythm is not an accident. It is an architecture.

The 3-6-9 rhythm applies this same principle to leadership. It invites us to punctuate our day with intention, not just motion. To move through time consciously, rather than be swept along by it.

This is not about mysticism. It’s about energetic stewardship.

Section 3: Introducing the Daily Practice (3 – 6 – 9)

Let’s break down the practice into its three core touchpoints:

3 – Morning Intention

The way we begin our day sets the tone for everything that follows. Before opening your inbox or checking your calendar, take a moment to name three states you wish to embody. These might be values (e.g., “clarity, compassion, courage”) or energetic qualities (“steadiness, openness, trust”).

This is not about aspiration, it’s about attunement. You are setting your frequency before the world sets it for you.

“I am choosing to lead today from clarity, groundedness, and generosity.”

Write these down. Speak them aloud. Let them shape your breath and posture. This becomes your energetic compass.

6 – Midday Alignment

By midday, most leaders are pulled in a dozen directions. The 6-point is your invitation to pause.

Ask: Am I still aligned with how I intended to show up today?
If yes, acknowledge it. If not, gently return.

This can look like a 5-minute walk, a few deep breaths, or simply closing your eyes and repeating your morning intention. The goal is not perfection, it’s returning.

These micro-recalibrations build coherence. They prevent the day from running away with your attention.

9 – Evening Integration

The final point is not about critique. It’s about integration.

Before bed, or at the close of your workday, reflect on how you showed up. Where did you express your intention fully? Where did you drift? What are you grateful for?

This reflection doesn’t need to be long. A few lines in a journal. A quiet moment in stillness. This step strengthens self-awareness and gently closes the energetic loop of your day.

“Today I led with courage in a difficult conversation. I lost clarity during the afternoon rush, but I returned to it. I am grateful for the chance to try again tomorrow.”

Section 4: Why This Matters in a Distracted World

We live in a time where attention is the most compromised resource. Leaders are expected to make decisions quickly, communicate constantly, and adapt endlessly. In such conditions, it’s easy to lose ourselves.

The 3-6-9 rhythm offers a counter-current to this fragmentation. It brings us back to intentionality. It slows down time just enough to ask: Is this who I want to be right now?

Research supports the power of structured reflection and rhythm on leadership effectiveness. A study by Davidson et al. (2003) found that regular mindfulness practice enhances prefrontal cortex activity, improving emotional regulation and decision-making. Similarly, daily intention-setting has been shown to increase behavioral congruence and well-being (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

This is not about productivity hacks. It’s about remembering your center.

Section 5: From Habit to Embodiment

At first, the 3-6-9 practice may feel like a new habit. But over time, it becomes a way of being.

You begin to notice when you drift. You recalibrate more quickly. You start to lead with a quieter kind of confidence, the kind that comes from coherence, not control.

Frequency-based leadership is not about projecting perfection. It’s about transmitting presence. And presence is cultivated through rhythm.

The more consistently you return to your intention, the more your leadership becomes an embodied signal, one that others can feel, trust, and follow.

Section 6: Closing Invitation – Try It for a Week

Try it for seven days. Choose three words each morning. Pause at midday. Reflect each evening. No pressure. Just rhythm.

Notice what shifts. Not just in your performance, but in your presence. In how you feel when you walk into a room. In how you respond when things get messy.

Ask yourself:
What might become possible if I stopped leading from urgency, and started leading from rhythm?

Let’s Keep Talking!

Peter Comrie
Co-Founder and Human Capital Specialist at Full Spectrum Leadership Inc.
Reach out to me at peter@fullspectrumleadership.com

Or connect with me here to book a call!

Reach me on Linkedin; https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercomrie/

Tags: frequency-based leadership, conscious leadership, 3-6-9 method, intentional leadership, practices inner alignment, leadership presence,