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Theme & content
In organizations, our success as leaders is measured by the degree to which we’ve mastered the external environment and delivered results in the form of revenues, profits, new product breakthroughs, cost savings, or market share increases.
External results, of course, are important. However, by trying to conform to the external requirements of leadership what are you doing to yourself?
Are you enjoying the paradigmatic ‘doing’ of leadership? Is it possible for you to let go, when you want to? Does the consequences of failing in your job scare you? Do you feel endangered by exotic species of new-age leadership?
Are you really going where you intend to go, as an individual or this role of leadership seems to be coming in the way?
Well, if some or all of this seems to be your concern, the unique participative space of Spiritual Leadership is meant for you to participate in.
We come from a belief that leadership is not so much about something we do. It is a process, an intimate expression of who we are. It’s our being in action. At its deepest level, leadership is authentic self-expression that creates value.
Viewing leadership from this essential vantage point, Spiritual Leadership is founded on three core principles:
- How authentic are we?
- How deep and broad is our self-expression?
- How much value are we creating?
The journey entails search for answers to fundamental questions like:
- How do I go about expressing myself more authentically?
- How do we find out where is my leadership coming from?”
- Do my actions originate as a response from a sense of purpose and intent or are they reactions to a superficial, limited space?
- Is my leadership arising from my character, the essence of I am? Or is it only coming from my persona, the external personality I’ve created to cope with life circumstances?
- Am I obsessed with always doing and saying the “right thing” or I am sensitive and responsive to the operative environment, in the moment?
- Is it okay for me to not know what I am expected to know as a leader, show up with my vulnerabilities and seek help?
- Am I too steeped in my need for independence and freedom or I am ready to value interdependence?
- Is my innate power in being right, or is it in being real.”
The Five Touchstones of Spiritual Leadership
- Touchstone One: Know Yourself Authentically.
Instead of focusing on finding the right partner (in business or friendships) you will seek to be the right partner. Get to commit to authentically in discovering your complete atman.
- Touchstone Two: Listen Authentically.
Authentic listening is the soul of synergy. Authentic listening is about being generous—listening with a giving attitude that seeks to bring forth the contribution in someone, versus listening with our limiting mindsets, opinions and judgments. Authentic listening is about being open to the purpose and the learning forthcoming from the other.
Get to learn how to create the platform for true synergy and team effectiveness through authentic listening. Discover what it takes to be open to valuing and attending to different perspectives from diverse sources, leading to a more complete understanding of issues and more effective decisions.
- Touchstone Three: Express Authentically.
Authentic expression is a delicate subject for many leaders. We rarely meet leaders who admit readily that they lack some degree of integrity. We also rarely meet leaders who have complete integrity in all parts of their lives. Integrity goes far beyond telling the truth. Integrity means total congruence between who we are and what we do. It is a fundamental challenge for most of us. Get started on the path to getting there.
Learn how not to hold back something that we feel is important because we’re fearful of expressing it. Learn how not to make things appear appropriate and yet be accepted. Learn to be ruthlessly compassionate about sharing bitter truth with others. And learn to be genuinely proud about who you are than feigning modesty.
Authentic expression is the true voice of the leader. We speak from our character and it creates trust, synergy and connection with everyone around us. Authentic expression is not about refining our presentation style—it’s deeper than that. Some of the most authentic leaders I know stumble around a bit in their delivery, but the words come right from their hearts and experience. You feel their conviction and the integral connection of who they are and what they say. Expressing authentically is about straight talk that creates value. It’s about sharing your real thoughts and feelings in a manner that opens up possibilities.
- Touchstone Four: Appreciate Authentically.
As leaders we tend to do too much and appreciate too little. Love is an extreme case of appreciation. However, the “L” word is a taboo in business circle. That’s in spite of the fact that the “L” word is the substance that unifies teams, builds cultures, fosters commitment and bonds people in an organization.
Learn to leverage your self-love to appreciate. Create value in the environment you are in through appreciative self-expression. Energize people around you and make them want to exceed their goals and perceived limits.
- Touchstone Five: Serve Authentically.
This is an age of servant leadership. A leader is not judged by how well he or she leads, but by how well he or she serves. Our real job is to serve all the constituencies in our life and, in the process, to appreciate genuinely the fact the only through our interdependence with others do we create value
As leaders, get to move from control to service. Get to acknowledge and appreciate the systemic design and that we’re not the sole architect of the consequences. Begin to sense the Karma yogi in you.
Commit yourself to the lifelong process of authentically growing as a person in order to grow as a leader. Those who stay connected to each of these five touchstones of spiritual leadership not only enhance their own effectiveness as leaders, but improve all aspects of their lives.
For more information on our programs related to Spiritual Leadership, write to indraneel@iprodigy.net, giving details of the as-is scenario, the perceived objectives and the target audience and we shall get back to you with our recommendations.
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