Leadership Image Perspective - The Spiritual Aspect of Leadership

The following is a great comment on the spiritual aspect of leadership. Thanks Wayne.

The zen of vision.  As with zen spirituality it is a force of the possible, of creativity.  And has to flow from “what is,” it has !to be based upon a reality that is more than perceived but experienced.  The visionary is not outside of the world but fully within and the great ideas, great visions that others may celebrate, come to the visionary because they have fully given themselves up to what is and out of that they see what could be.  Note, getting into one’s own head and falling in love with your ideas without knowing the reality of the limitations of the situation and people involved is a non-starter.

The tao of relationship.  “Leaders inspire others to engage with their vision.”  NOT!  First the leader will act on or affect and then, secondly, the leader will wait for engagement with their vision.  NOT!  Let’s turn this on its head.  

First the Leader engages with her/his colleagues, as colleague with complete respect for where they are and who they are.  They are the vision.  Without the tao of relationship there is no vision.  The engagement of the Leader generates the vision because it is within the individuals “being led”.  It is reciprocal.  Like the Heidenberg Principle the led lead and the leader is led.  Inspiring comes from the inspiration of the possible in other and engagement comes from surrendering ti engagement in the other.  Leaders truly care about others.  Every discussion I have ever (and I mean EVER) heard about managerial leadership has always left out the little thing about if in the end you do not really care about the employee first as a person (where they are) it is luck if they care to engage in your vision!

Creative action.  Is this all bullshit?  I think not. The Leader acts on vision, living it first.  There is no vision without living in the real and experiencing that which IS so that the possible becomes part of living.  In the machinery of the corporation this is called being productive and delivering deliverables.

The paradoxes now become:  Vision exists within relationship and action.  Action finds meaning in relationship and vision.  Relationship is grounded in the action of relationship.

Vision is possibility and so action on vision must include finding the possibility in others and having their vision of themselves feed the vision.  So all employees are part of the vision.  One does not know what they are capable of unless they are freed or “empowered” to become part of the vision and contribute to your own engagement.