What is an Awakened Leader?

The simplest explanation of an
Awakened Leader is:
"A leader who is awake."

Not just in the factual sense of the
word, but in every way.

As an Awakened Leader you
maintain a high level of alertness
in every regard:

Toward yourself and your driving
motives in various matters;

Toward the people you guide;
toward the organization you lead;

Toward the environment in which
your organization operates, and

Toward the entire universe.

What's Ahead

This chapter presents some inspirational impulses toward Awakened Leadership, generated through conversation and readings. To clarify the concept of Awakened Leadership, we'll then take a walk through history and into the present, reviewing examples of Awakened Leadership. This chapter also reviews elements of Awakened Leadership, emphasizing authenticity and emotional intelligence, as they're so crucial to this leadership style. Finally, the chapter reviews the three dimensions of Awakened Leadership — internal, external, and integrated — presenting models for further clarification.

Inspiration from a Meeting

During a lunch meeting a few years ago, a dear friend, Richard, shared with me five life rules that I thought could form the basis of a book about Awakened Leadership:

1. Goals are important, but the journey should be the main source of joy. It's all about the journey. Reaching your goal is just a small part of the victory; you have to make everyday of the trip worthwhile, since you spend most of your time "traveling" anyway.

2. Follow the suggestion of Joe Simonetta from his book Seven Words That Can Change the World: Be healthy, be kind, respect the environment. Richard explained to me that being healthy refers to your responsibility toward yourself; being kind, to your relationship with other living beings; and respecting the environment, to your interconnectedness with everything and everyone around you.

3. Don't underestimate your intuition. Recognize it, and listen to it — not in a wild and disjointed way, but in sync with the rationality of everything you've learned. But don't try to quantify everything, for quality is what it's all about. If you learn to respect your intuition, you'll find yourself happier and much more content.

4. Everything comes at the right time. It's a wave, a flow. No need to push or force. The way you conduct yourself and treat others will determine the way they see you. In this regard, Richard gave a few examples of