What are you holding on to? Are you really free?

How come we hold on to so many things?
As if to reassure ourselves ...

We hold on to our routine,on to our technology, our smartphone, our computer, our TV.
We cling to our properties, our car, our real estate, our football club, our political views.
We stick to what is suitable and reasonable, to the beliefs of our society, to our job, to our own beliefs, to our image, our ego ...our husband or wife ...

We hold on to or we get stuck to whatever. To superficial and insignificant things. But to things that bring structure and stability to our lives... Or a semblance of structure and stability ...

We are afraid of getting lost. We are afraid of ourselves, of not knowing who we are without all these attachments...
We hold on to things to avoid falling into boredom. To avoid falling into the void.

We hold on to things not to doubt. Our attachments are certainties, are tangible, material, stable. They give us confidence, they are reassuring.

As a result, our lives are limited, we feel heaviness, clumsiness, stubbornness.
Our vision of the world and our life limits us, imprisons us.
We become disabled with life. We do not see that everything, anything is possible. We cannot imagine that tomorrow could be totally different from yesterday ... if we really wanted it to be...

We need lightness, agility, freedom.
We need to be aware of what is really important to us.
We need to be able to let go of what is not worth it, of the superfluous, of the nonsense.

Let's take our freedom!
Freedom to be who we are here and now, without compromise or unnecessary obligation.

I have a challenge for you:
How about gradually leaving the attachment you have for these little insignificant things in your life?
How about dropping routines and letting your life flow more freely?
How do you see that? Any truth in it? Does it look possible?

How to motivate and retain competent and proactive collaborators?

We are still in the paradigm of the industrial economy in which employees are just productive resources for the company.

They are resources to fill a need, competences that fit a profile, who play a role and perform a task.

What if we changed perceptions? 
How can it be if we begin perceiving and treating these employees as key contributors to the company's development?

Quite a change of perspective for the manager and a paradigm shift for the employee!

"Come on! What are you talking about! How could a salesclerk in a shop or an accountant in an office ever become a contributor to a company's development?
These resources have to do their job and do it well. If they don’t, they are out!
There are so many candidates able to do it even better!"

How cynical!
Treated as a resource, a collaborator will never be more than a resource. Don’t expect anything more. 
And managing through the fear of unemployment may only be profitable in the very short term. The competent and high potential people will not accept it for too long...

So change your mindset. 
These employees have their say, their ideas, their thoughts and opinions.
What connects them with the business? What feeling of belonging do they have?Are they recognized in this company? Or is it: "this is what you get!"

Just imagine that these same employees, on a regular basis are given information about the business, its ambitions, activities or results ...
Imagine you develop your relationship with them, you pay attention to them, imagine you’re interested in what they say and do, that the company engages in their personal growth.

Suddenly they transform into partners! They can feel they are part of the system...
They may well become proactive people who participate in the life and development of the company.

To create commitment, flexibility and dynamism in the business, connect with your colleagues and teams, get them involved in the life of the company, let them express themselves!

These people are your capital for the future of the company!
Create contact, create intimacy with collaborators and don’t lose them!

What do you think? Is it possible or idealistic?

Are you a wise Leader?

The wise leader does not make a show of holiness or pass out grades for good performance. 
That would create a climate of success and failure. Competition and jealousy follow.


Emphasizing material success is the same: those who have a lot become greedy, and those who have little become thieves.


When you reinforce appearances, people scramble to please.


The wise leader pays respectful attention to all behaviour. Thus the group becomes open to more and more possibilities of behaviour. 
People learn a great deal when they are open to everything and not just figuring out what pleases the teacher.


The leader shows that style is no substitute for substance, that knowing certain facts is not more powerful than simple wisdom, that creating an impression is not more potent than acting from one’s center.


The students learn that effective action arises out of silence and a clear sense of being. In this they find a source of peace. 

They discover that the person who is down to earth can do what needs doing more effectively than the person who is merely busy.


The Tao of Leadership - Lao Tsu

And you, what do you think?

In organizations "Those who speak do not know and those who know do not speak"

This sentence strikes me and connects me to the importance of the political game within companies and the difficulty of creating openness and efficient communication.

Organizations suffer from the lack of communication between people, from the lack of shared learning within teams.

The internal competition, the pressure and stress levels experienced day after day in companies greatly limit team performance and team members’ development potential...

On one hand, the newly promoted need to learn their job and develop in their roles.
On the other hand, the experienced collaborators have a deep understanding and a detailed knowledge that enable them to perform their jobs in an automated way.

If the two are able to exchange in an open and humble mindset they will be able to learn from each other: one providing expertise, the other the freshness of a new and curious perspective.

Unfortunately we rarely see that level of clear openness and  efficient sharing attitude. And for managers the reliable information is not always available where it should be.

Organizations no longer need obedient and individualistic employees.
They need people who are present 100 percent. Collaborators who are committed and able to interact actively and fluidly.

They don’t need dependent and individualistic resources.
But interdependent, authentic and action driven personalities.

"Those who speak do not know and those who know do not speak"
What do you think? Is there any truth in this sentence for you?