What type of leader are you? Do you put on a hat?

I was raised with the belief that leadership was synonimous of strength, pride, arrogance, authority, command. I have evolved to believe that it is not exactly that. It may in cases be the exact opposite.

Leadership is about being, about self awareness, humility, connection, sharing. It is linked with vision, direction, ambition, contribution to humanity, to the world.

We may act as leaders and not really be ones or act as ordinary people and be powerful leaders.

Leadership is about sparks in the eyes, about resonance, about being happy to be here, about being alive here and now and open to life, to the unknown.

Leadership is confidence for oneself and for the others. It's inspiration.

In corporate life and working environnements, leadership tends to be contaminated by limiting beliefs and habits. Beliefs that when you take on a position, you have to act in a certain way, do certain things, be like this and not like that.

It is not totally untrue. Some norms may be helpful. But the problem is that a majority of executives tend to get away from their personality, from their personal desires, objectives and beliefs.
They tend to become stereotyped managers. Stereotyped by their own idea of what they should be like. Stereotyped by the corporate culture, habits, unsaid rules and regulations.

Don’t expect too much creativity or out of the box thinking from that perspective!

Have the courage to take off your hat! Be yourself! Blow away barriers!
Even if your are an excellent actor, you playing a role will finally ring false.
Be in a position to be yourself! From there you may be more of a leader.

Focus on the responsabilities, on the objectives, not on the etiquette or the idea of the role. Be yourself in that context. Don’t take on any preformated attitude.

Of course what you have learned in your education and during your experience is useful. But let more space to spontaneity, to intuition, to aliveness. Give space for authenticity, for originality in the workplace. Allow clumsiness and mistake to be acceptable. Allow differences in attitudes to sneak in. Go for creativity and open the teams to out of the box thinking.

Go for the infinite magic of free human beings and liberated teams!