- The word soul comes from the Latin animus, meaning that which animates, so leading with soul means influencing others with energy and with life.
- The quality of the relationships a leader maintains with others is directly linked to the quality of the relationship that leader maintains with themselves.
- Teams, organizations and results mirror who the leader is, so there is no point searching outside for the deeper causes of a current reality without being willing to look within.
- Leading others always begins with leading oneself, and the work done with others is a consequence of the work being done within.
Leadership that carries this kind of meaning must be connected to what brings purpose and motivation to live. When you are attuned to what your soul is asking of you, you can influence others far more powerfully. But when you are disconnected from yourself, you will inevitably be disconnected from the people around you.
Is leadership a relational competency?
For some authors, leadership is fundamentally a relational competency: your capacity to build meaningful interpersonal relationships. But following this line of reasoning through to its conclusion, the quality of the relationships we maintain with others is directly linked to the quality of the relationship we maintain with ourselves.
Our relationships, feelings, and motivations toward others and toward life are a reflection of the relationship, feelings, and vitality we nurture within ourselves. So we must ask: how are we doing internally? Who are we, and what are our deepest longings? What is our soul asking of us? Are we regularly consulting our own soul?
Why must a leader look inward first?
We need to develop this inner voice to become better leaders and better guides for ourselves, and consequently for others. Our teams, organizations, and results mirror who we are. There is no point searching outside if we are unwilling to look within for the deeper causes of our current reality.
We cannot be good guides for our children, our communities, our teams, or our businesses if we are disconnected from ourselves. To preach concepts of life and business while living the opposite creates psychic and collective fractures, and amounts to a waste of time and a betrayal of purpose.
Where does all leadership begin?
Listening to our conscience, our superconsciousness, and seeking to understand not only what our soul desires but what it needs, helps us lead with meaning, purpose, and responsibility. Leading others always begins with leading oneself. The work we do with others will always be a consequence of the work we are doing within ourselves. A happy soul influences the happiness of countless others.
The short answer
Meaningful leadership is leadership connected to what brings purpose and motivation to live, because a leader attuned to what their soul is asking of them can influence others far more powerfully, while a leader disconnected from themselves will inevitably be disconnected from the people around them. Since teams, organizations and results mirror who the leader is, the inner voice has to be developed first. Leading others always begins with leading oneself.