REIMAGINING LEADERSHIP FOR COLLABORATIVE SOCIETIES
Do you have what it takes to lead humanity’s transition?
These 17 traits will help you decide
Our world is in trouble. Now more than ever, it is clear that our leaders have no idea how to lead effectively. Society is evolving quicker than our business, civic and spiritual leaders are, and certainly quicker than our systems are adapting. As we rethink what we’ve come to accept as ‘normal,’ what might an evolved leader look like? Are you ready and able to be the source of inspiration others turn to during times of crisis, during this time of transition?
The aim of this essay is not to convince you of what is right or wrong, but to provide a context for making sense of what you already know to be true, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
The challenge is that what you know to be true isn’t widely accepted as truth by others. This dissonance created between what you know to be true and what the rest of the world accepts as truth can be immensely frustrating, to the point where you sometimes question your own sanity.
The good news, though, is that the very sanity you hold dear — the knowledge and skills that have little value in a competitive society — are exactly the knowledge and skills that will be in high demand in a collaborative society. A collaborative society is the healthy outcome of an evolving, maturing society.
In the butterfly maturation cycle, only a small percentage of butterfly eggs make the full transformation to the butterfly. Researchers agree that Nature kills 98% of butterfly eggs. Similarly, only a small percentage of competitive societies will make the evolutionary leap to a collaborative society. That’s just how Nature works, and it could be great news for you. That’s because pioneers like you will establish brand new collaborative communities and societies, which will attract those wanting to exit collapsing, competitve societies. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
If you’ve been misunderstood or viewed as somewhat of a failure in the past, it could be that you have been divinely called and prepared for the task at hand right now. It could be that you are uniquely positioned to help your colleagues, community, company or city make the evolutionary leap.
What you need right now is to restore your self-esteem so that you stop questioning your sanity and can maintain a sense of purpose… so that you can ultimately use your divinely given talents to help us all navigate the highly complex evolutionary process which lies ahead.
Truth and Deception
The first calling for an emergent leader is to understand the differences between leadership in a competitive society and leadership in a collaborative society.
“Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.” ― Clay Shirky
From a young age, you’ve been able to see through the illusions, half-truths, and manipulations rife in competitive societies. As a precocious truth teller, you can’t help but see through the nonsense and expose it. This desire to highlight the nonsensical is written into your DNA, which has sometimes made you unpopular.
Your challenge as an emerging leader, though — as the world fundamentally changes — is to shift this desire to expose truth and deception (a finger-pointing exercise) to instead use your highly valuable yet underrated skills to energetically and consciously create collaborative communities (a moment of truth commitment).
The primary role of the emerging leader is to build healthy communities.
As enlightened teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti observes:
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
You’ve known how sick society is all your life, but your warnings have been largely ignored. This sickness is so complex and pervasive that it’s difficult to adequately define without simply focussing on some of the symptoms (systemic inequality, social injustices, ecological damage, mental health, etc.)
Native American mythologies refer to this sickness as a mind virus. It’s a virus that causes mental blindness: the inability of the person infected to see the obvious, and to vehemently deny that they are infected.
You can easily spot someone infected by the mind virus. Watch two infected British television presenters vehemently deny their infection. Of course they don’t use those exact words, but this is a great example of the virus in action:
This mind virus is the same virus responsible for all civilisational collapses in class-based societies. Your purpose is to apply what you know and and your deep wisdom to help us clear the mind virus and rebuild from the inevitable civilisational collapse we’re now witnessing.
But how do you know if you’re ready for the job?
17 Traits of the Emergent Leader
If you possess more than half of these traits — adapted from Signs of an Indigo Child — you’re likely ready for the job:
1. You are a free thinker
No idea or belief is too holy for you to dissect or reject. You prefer to think for yourself rather than blindly following the crowd or accepting everything anyone in authority says. As an emergent leader, questioning every narrative is your default response. (You likely smelled a rat shortly after the C19 narrative made the airwaves.)
2. You are a passionate truth-seeker
Truth, to you, is of primary importance. You are always seeking to distinguish truth and reality from lies and deception. You have a highly developed sense of intuition and you can immediately sense deception. Although the truth often hurts, you honour it above all else. You would prefer to suffer from the truth than be happy believing a false narrative. (You likely don’t watch TV and have listened to many interviews with doctors questioning the official C19 narrative.)
3. You are perceptive and intelligent
You can connect the dots to see and understand things about humanity and life that most other people don’t perceive. Your keen perception allows you to discover the truth about the human condition, and how that condition can be improved. (You likely have made the connection between 9/11 and C19.)
4. You are a headstrong nonconformist
You cannot stand being boxed in or controlled by others. You prefer to find your own truth and forge your own path, particularly when the dominating narrative makes no sense to you. (You likely didn’t wear a mask during the C19 narrative.)
5. You’re highly creative
Your nonconformist brain loves to find solutions that others haven’t thought of and it’s often said you ‘think way outside the box.’ You also enjoy creative self-expression through drawing, dancing, singing, building, painting, writing or crafting. (You likely were busier during the lockdown doing your own thing than before.)
6. You have a loner/autonomous personality
As a free spirit, you don’t like to be held down by anyone or anything. You find it difficult to be around too many people at once, and often prefer to spend time in your own company. You enjoy being on your own and the flashes of inspiration and insight these moments of stillness can bring. (You likely didn’t get too involved trying to convince others that wearing a mask achieves nothing.)
7. You are an old soul
You know you’ve lived many lifetimes, and possess a wisdom that others sometimes don’t understand. You have a deeply spiritual and philosophical outlook on life. (You likely have spent time pondering how C19 fits in with the evolutionary cycle of humanity.)
8. You are spiritual and highly intuitive
You can easily tap into the divine and you can often intuit the best course of action. You are generally critical of proposed solutions, unless they align with your spiritual intuition. (You’re likely bemused by the number of people wearing masks and touting a vaccine.)
9. You are critical of academia and the scientific method
Because of your sharp and inquisitive mind, you tend to struggle with the limitations of conventional education and even science itself. From your connection with the divine, you know there are other ways of addressing the human condition. (You’re likely aware of the extent to which science has been perverted in the pursuit of profits.)
10. You are deeply empathetic
You care so much about the planet and other people that it often hurts. Every time you see or hear of violence, destruction, and cruelty, you feel sorrow and righteous anger. (You likely may even have contemplated removing yourself from what can seem like a hopeless situation).
11. You are extraordinarily compassionate
Despite the hurt and anger you feel, your exceptionally high level of compassion means that you’re able to love the enemy, without justifying their actions. You believe in the inherent good of human nature and can easily see that ‘bad behaviour’ is more a reflection of a dysfunctional system than an evil individual. (You likely can harbour feelings of deep anger and deep compassion — for the same person — simultaneously.)
12. You have a strong connection with nature and animals
As an empathic and compassionate person, you gravitate towards the natural world. You feel most at home when you’re near the ocean, in the mountains or surrounded by trees and animals. Nature is so pure and grounding that you find it a welcome break from the pretension of humanity. (You likely broke stay at home rules just so you could be outdoors.)
13. You are prone to experiencing existential angst
Existential anxiety and depression go far beyond usual anxiety and depression, and this is because it is more concerned with life itself than the self. You tend to ask questions such as “Why is there injustice in the world?” “Why does everyone seem blinded to what’s going on?” “What is my role on the planet?” Such deep philosophical questions cause you to lose interest in the meaningless pursuits carried out by the majority of humanity. (You’re likely fully aware of just how broken the system is and how extreme the human and planetary condition is.)
14. You want to change the world
Deep in your heart, you feel a driving force to create positive change on this planet. You also know that your destiny is to build the new rather than question the old. This strong sense of purpose forms the axis of your decisions. Whatever is not aligned with your inner sense of purpose quickly dissolves in favour of soul-based decisions. (You’re likely sceptical of protests, or you’ve been passionately protesting and have realised how ineffective that strategy is.)
15. You are visionary
You are often frustrated by small-mindedness and you have high expectations for yourself and other people. Through your deep intuition and connection with the divine, you see solutions which others believe are impossible to achieve. Nonetheless, your vision is what maintains your drive for a better future for all. (You likely have got involved in all kinds of projects which ultimately didn’t achieve what you were hoping for.)
16. You are strong willed
You are a passionate person who will do anything it takes to accomplish your goals or dreams. Even if other people criticise or don’t support you, you still keep going no matter what. (It’s likely that you’ve been asked on more than one occasion why you don’t “get a proper job.”)
17. You’re a change-making leader
You’ve always gravitated towards leadership. You may find it hard to work in teams or for other people and function better when you’re in charge or working for yourself. You find it difficult to obey authority, particularly when that authority is corrupt, illogical or outdated. You want to offer better, wiser, and healthier ways to live life, making you destined to be an Emergent Leader. (It’s likely that you know this already but aren’t quite sure where to turn your attention to.)
The Rallying Call for Emergent Leaders
Emergent Leaders are here to facilitate a mass human migration from competitive societies to collaborative societies.
There is a mammoth task ahead of us. It will take the combined effort of each and every “woke” citizen in every nation to accomplish the greatest human migration ever attempted. This is now the task of three generations, and our work starts today.
We will confront the worst economic depression in living memory with our chins held high and without blaming anyone. We will overcome doubt, cynicism and ridicule, because this is the work we are called to do. We will show what we are capable of when we join forces. And we will prove to the world that a quantum leap in the evolution of humanity is not only possible, it’s our birthright.
Guidance for Emergent Leaders
If you have discovered that you’re an Emergent Leader, you might benefit from the following tips:
- To stay grounded, fully familiarise yourself with the mind virus.
- Know how to answer questions from those infected by the virus (practice using the questions asked in the video shown above.)
- To fully understand what it means to migrate from a competitive civilisation to a collaborative society, explore how far you’ve already opted out of the system.
- Practice connecting with the divine.
- Connect with other Emergent Leaders.
- Creatively express yourself and your visionary ideas. Tag your expressions with #P2030 so that other Emergent Leaders can amplify your voice.
- Spend as much time as possible in nature to unwind and regain balance.
Finally, if you’re ready to publicly declare your availability as an Emergent Leader in service of humanity’s migration, post the following (or similar) intention to your favourite social platform. Remember to tag it with #P2030 so that we can amplify your statement of intent.
I today declare my full commitment to humanity as an Emergent Leader. The task ahead may be daunting, but this is what I was born to do. Connect with me if you feel the same. #P2030 https://link.medium.com/LVi0d632Q9
