Many of our ways of thinking around business and organizational development, leadership and management were born during the industrial revolution, somewhere in the 19th century. We have transcended them from generation to generation, programmed us to think how an organization should be designed, what it means to lead and how we succeed with change. Let’s face it – the world has changed since then.
One thing that we have been programmed to do is to separate the interhuman and interpersonal processes from business development. We have been taught to separate the professional self from the personal self. The intellect from the heart. The smartness from the passion. To separate the structure from the culture. With increasing speed an uncertainty, this has caused us to feel less engagement, purpose and meaning.
We need to operate with a much bigger awareness and a clearer intent.
And yes, we have moved the different perspectives closer – but we still tend to separate them and even pendule between them. To integrate perspectives requires more energy from us, more of our cognitive capacities. And let’s face it, our brain is by nature lazy. But the human being has incredible potential – for finding purpose, seeing the bigger picture, see different perspective, to learn, to be creative, to have empathy, to connect – and to take responsibility and leadership. To use these amazing capabilities, that the world and businesses of today needs from us, we need to operate with a much bigger awareness and a clearer intent.
We at Gaia always strive to work with business and personal growth – at the same time. The times where we could create a business strategy that were just smart – but no one really cared about – are over. To create sustainable, resilient businesses today – and that will continue to create value in the future, we need people to grow and mature. But not just to create self-leadership that is for me, myself and I. On the contrary, we would say it’s essential for people to grow in connection with the business, with commitment to a whole that is larger than me, with the feeling of accountability and ownership. With this integration of my own purpose, passion and learning with the business direction and development – we can create conditions for really great things to happen. And therefore, a potential for really strong, resilient and profitable businesses – that could manage whatever challenges the world throws on them.
Let your curiosity lead you.
Maybe you are thinking: “Is it really possible?” Well, when living and leading in complexity, the only way of knowing is to try. Let your curiosity lead you. What would happen if I started to integrate perspectives more, aiming for the both-and instead of the either-or? To challenge yours, and others, old ways of thinking. And if you want a partner in that wayfinding, or just someone to discuss with on how to do or think, we are always open for those conversations. In fact, we love them.