When you look back at jobs you’ve had throughout your career, the day-to-day details often fade, but the influence of the leaders you encountered along the way has a lasting impact. Now more than ever, people want to feel connected to a deeper sense of purpose in their work and know that what they do matters. To create and sustain this type of workplace culture, businesses need conscious leaders.
A conscious leader is one who is primarily driven by service to the purpose of the business, and not by the pursuit of power or personal enrichment. They have a passion for making a positive impact on the world through their organization and use that passion to motivate and engage colleagues. They are not command-and-control leaders and do not use “carrots and sticks” to motivate people. Instead, they lead by example and mentor, motivate, develop, and inspire those around them to foster a more conscious culture. Conscious leaders are also generally servant leaders—they serve the organization’s higher purpose and try to create more value for all of their major stakeholders.
On National Leadership Day, I want to celebrate all the conscious leaders who are making a difference in their organizations and the world. This type of leadership is the future, so keep showing up as your authentic selves. I also want to give a shoutout to a few conscious leaders that continue to inspire me in so many ways:
- Jason Buechel
- Karen Sammon
- Tom Gardner
- Rand Stagen
- Gaby Sulzberger
- Suzanne Frey
- Dan Buettner
- Teresa Kersten
Click here to read more about conscious leadership.