Redefining Leadership: Socially-Conscious Leadership
Don't you think it's about time we redefine today's Leadership? We don't think it's working, do you?
The world is full of leaders who do not recognise themselves, less the people they serve. It's time to redefine Leadership for a better world.
As per Forbes, Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.
In this article, its author Kevin Kruse* has debunked several of the formal definitions given to Leadership. We invite you to read it. For him, Leadership is oriented to the empowering of others, which "maximises the efforts" of the employees to reach a certain goal. Certainly, he defines Leadership based on employee engagement, and under these circumstances, we could agree with him since for us Leadership also entails empowerment of others.
However, this definition is still considering some points that relate to today's Leadership, which we should scrap as well if we want to live in a world of freedom, growth and equality:
Why should Leadership relate only to others?
Why is there a need to achieve a goal?
Where is the togetherness?
Leadership is defined by uniqueness and co-creation. Not necessarily defined by someone else's influence, and not necessarily defined by the achievement of a goal.
Leadership is being the example for yourself of what you want to see in the world. Leadership starts within you, in your being. It emerges to the outside world through your responses and actions, and the relationship that you hold with others through your being. However, Leadership is not defined by those relationships. It is defined by your uniqueness, that which you are.
You are your own leader. Then, you might be a leader for someone else. It is up to them if they want to learn from your uniqueness, from who you are and what you create. You are not influencing others, this is not your intention. Your intention is to be who you already are, to create from there, and nurture your own growth and the change that you are.
Leadership never disappears when you are being your own guru. This is, when you discover your power of being through the learning and un-learning of certain beliefs and patterns, through your observation, presence, and exploration, experience and practice to be in freedom. A discovery process that is not of social influence, but which is only yours, for which you cannot follow anyone, because only you can define your path, since you are authentic as who you are.
Everyone is a leader, because everyone is unique and everyone can learn from someone else's authenticity.
Leadership constantly changes when relating to the outside world, to others. Today, you might lead us, tomorrow we might lead you. It is your choice if you want to grow through my being and doing. We choose moment by moment, depending on our evolution and the need we might have to grow in a certain aspect of our being (and doing).
Uniqueness generates the leader in you. This is, your freedom to be who you are and create what you love. What is there to reach other than learning or un-learning to be your own self?
Leadership is created through you and for yourself. Your creations define what might serve to others, but it is not your aim. Socially-Conscious Leaders empower others to nurture themselves. It is a constant growth process via giving and receiving through their being.
Their creations are the result of who they are. Hence, they can be anyone in the structure of today's society, since what they are is defined by who they are: entrepreneurs, business persons, employees, politicians, nurses, gardeners, etc. or not having any profession at all, just being themselves in freedom and love, changing the world from the inside-out.
Co-creation is defined by the harmonic dance of giving and receiving, not one less than the other, a perfect spiral of positive impact. Giving without receiving, depletes you. Receiving without giving, depletes others.
Co-creation happens naturally, without having to give anything up, and without having to thrive toward any goal. It is a wholehearted being and doing through who you are, in equality, in respect, in love. No comparison, no competition, just exponentially summing up by the giving and receiving in this co-creative relationship.
Co-creation does not need a goal; it happens as you flow in togetherness. The how is not priorly defined, it is created as you co-learn and co-evolve through your individual and collective potential, creating a new world from the inside-out.
Dare to be who you are to experience the freedom to be! Society needs you.
#powerofbeing #togetherwearelimitless 🦋♾
*Kevin Kruse is the creator of the Leading for Employee Engagement eLearning program for managers. and author of the bestselling book, Employee Engagement 2.0.