As a public speaker on the topic of leadership, I often ask the audience “Who manages you best?” The answer is always the same regardless of the size of the group, “Me of course:’ So why do we believe this is any different for our employees? They want an opportunity to manage themselves and they are extremely capable of leading themselves. However, just like most of us, they have forgotten how. They are focused on doing what others expect of them, worried about how others will judge them and attempting to make others happy. No wonder many of us are confused. In the corporate environment we have spent the last 100 years teaching people to not think, to not take ownership, to not rely on their own gifts, strengths and know-how. Organizations have especially discouraged employees from going within and tapping into their intuitive side (heart-centered/spiritually grounded) to seek the right answer or right action. Instead, a climate of fear prevails within companies as employers worry about losing control and employees worry about getting fired if their manager believes they aren’t following procedures properly.

Again this is based on a belief that people won’t do the right thing. In fact some organizations don’t even want the employee to do the right thing. This is because the organization, so buried in politics, bureaucracy and legalities, has lost all sense of what the right thing to do is. The result is groups of employees continually trying to figure out what the company, manager, or department expect them to do, what process to follow and how to react in every situation. These employees dial down their natural abilities to lead themselves and make great decisions, because it is more important to follow the company line. The overall result is less creativity, less authenticity, less innovation, less authentic engagement, less intellect being shared and the true talent, skills and abilities of each employee are lost. This is one of the key factors leading to reduced productivity and performance. To make a shift in leadership approach, and hence corporate environment, the leader must first recognize that each employee has all the right answers, is by nature a great person, and that when given the opportunity to self-lead they will have a much better opportunity to make right decisions and take right actions. It must be okay for each employee to dial up their right-brain, heart-centered intuitive self to seek their truth and alignment. It stands to reason that leaders must first learn how to do this for themselves before they can encourage others to do the same. The Spiritually Aligned Leader always sets the example.

This is the fundamental paradigm shift that we ask you to consider-that your employees have all the skills, ability and capacity to lead themselves. In fact it’s likely they are seeking the freedom to do just that. I am not suggesting you stop being engaged but simply suggest it is about how you engage.