Love Letter from the Universe to Leaders Everywhere: Leading Souls, not Just Human Beings (#1)
I was MAGICALLY inspired to write this today from my soul, to leaders everywhere.
The world is changing dramatically now, as you are aware. Old ways of thinking, being, doing and leading will no longer serve you because they can’t. Old ways never successfully adapt to major changes. New ways are required. Thinking you must have all the answers, or you know best, or your way is the best way to achieve a goal is not only impractical but adds to your personal stress. Under that model, what is available to you is quite limited while what faces you is extraordinarily complex. To address the complex problems your organization faces, you need new ways to lead by, creating more space and more options for others to bring their best to support your efforts.
Your Human Resource departments mean well with all their rules and procedures to involve people and get the job done, but they are in many ways squelching the very nature of what it means to be a brilliant human being, and a soul full of inspiration, which is what “soulful” means. Inspiration is now your best ally to bring much needed change to the planet. If you are willing to see your people as “souls full of inspiration,” much is available to you to solve the greatest problems man has ever known up to now. If you are not, you risk being left behind.
You are not limited by such rules and procedures if you yourself know what it means to be soul-full. If you know how to tap into your own inspirations daily and make that tapping a way of life. If you focus on inspiration as a core competency in all your behaviors and actions. That starts with being inspired in your thoughts, moods, emotions, and daily expressions. You have to live an inspired life to be truly inspirational to others. You can’t give to others when you aren’t filled up yourselves.
It is challenging with all of your responsibilities and burdens as a leader to remain inspired. The universe understands that and has GREAT, GREAT LOVE AND RESPECT FOR YOU for putting yourself in the position of loving others enough to lead them. Please remember that. You have entire teams of angels and guides (along with what you call God) ready at your disposal to help you if you are willing to ask. They are always there ready to be called upon for support.
If you spend at least as much time tapping into all that inspires you as you do focused on problems, complaints or a myriad of other distractions, you will be better strengthened and positioned to tap into the hearts and souls of your very talented people. Their souls are not just longing for more engagement (a start, we suppose), but more free expression in the world, unconstrained by man-made limits is what they are really hungry for. As a leader, how do you lead a “soul” instead of a “human being” you might ask:
Mine for the hidden talents like a miner who mines for gold. You do this by asking your team:
What lights your heart on fire? What are you really good at to light that fire?
Do you feel alive? Vital? Flourishing? Amazing? What can I do as your leader to prompt those feelings and keep those embers burning?
What contributions are you just dying to make that we, as an organization, have ignored?
What are you most hungry and willing to express, that we, as an organization, have not created avenues for?
…..other questions that occur to you from your own soul…..
Raise their awareness of not just your company’s mission and goals, but their own. Find ways to create not just business “alignment” but heartfelt bonds between what matters to your organization’s success and what matters most to them.
Remove as many constraints as you can for new levels of freedom of expression to come forth. As a team of “universal consultants,” we love hackathons, innovation exercises, ideas spreading like wildfire, formal spaces for great ideas to “incubate” and shark tanks (that promote growth and development rather than diminish it or “send it packing”), and other avenues that bring brilliant souls together to address the world’s troubles.
You are creative. You are inspirational by nature. Are you in? The world and your team needs you!
For coaching and support in how to lead your “souls” to greatness, contact executive coach Annette Brackin at annette@journeytoresults.com.
R