Emerging Insights, 6 November 2024
Let’s talk soul. Not the kind that belongs on a playlist, but the heart and pulse of your organisation. Imagine this: if your organisation had a soul—an essence that animated its every move—how would you describe it?
Today’s message invites you to explore this transformative concept in a lively podcast conversation inspired by my article, ‘An Organisation Without a Soul is Fighting an Uphill Battle – Let’s Flip the Script and Soar Instead!’ It’s a bold challenge to move beyond the status quo, to not just play the game, but to redefine it entirely. If you’re ready to dig deeper, you can also read the full article further below.
This conversation explores how an organisational soul can shift a company from rigid control to an adaptable, people-centred approach.
So, let’s get reflective:
- What fuels the heart of your organisation?
- If it had a heartbeat, would it be strong and inspiring—or struggling to find its rhythm?
- And let’s be honest—does it project an energy that ignites passion, or does it feel like it could use a revival?
These questions may seem philosophical, but an organisation’s soul is anything but airy. It’s heartbeat of purpose—the foundation that shapes every decision, fuels resilience, and aligns vision with values in a way that’s real and enduring.
This conversation explores what it means to cultivate this soul and why it’s vital for organisations today.
Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:
- The Essence of Organisational Soul: Discover why creating a soul-centered organisation is key to adaptability, purpose, and lasting success.
- Nature as a Model: Using ecosystems as inspiration, we’ll delve into how interconnectedness drives resilience and vibrancy.
- Soul-Centric Leadership: Traits of leaders who foster cultures of trust, humility, and creativity—places where collaboration and ingenuity flourish.
- Balancing Purpose and Freedom: How aligning shared purpose with individual autonomy can empower your team and spark collaboration.
- Practical Steps for Leaders: Real-world actions to bring more soul into your organisation by embracing open communication, celebrating individuality, and loosening rigid control.
- A Compass for Complex Times: Learn how a soulful foundation, rooted in trust and purpose, can guide teams through uncertainty.
A soulful approach empowers both your organisation and your people, turning a workplace from a rigid, control-driven machine into a vibrant, resilient ecosystem.
Tune in and explore how cultivating a soulful foundation can be the compass that guides your team through complex and changing environments.
Listen to the conversation below:
An Organisation Without a Soul is Fighting an Uphill Battle – Let’s Flip the Script and Soar Instead!
“The soul has been given its own ears to hear things the mind does not understand.” Rumi
As you read this article, I invite you to pause and reflect. Clear your mind and let go of preconceived notions. Look beyond what you already know and seek the fresh perspectives that await. This exploration will uncover the profound importance of cultivating an organisational soul and the transformative power it holds.
The Uphill Battle: Why It Feels So Hard
“You cannot change what you refuse to confront. And sometimes, you cannot change what you have no compassion for.” Bryant McGill
Imagine standing at the base of a mountain, gazing up at the summit. Your mission is to lead your organisation to new heights, helping it grow, adapt, and thrive. Yet this mountain isn’t like others—it shifts, its cliffs morph, and what seemed like a straightforward climb now feels like an endless uphill battle against unpredictable terrain.
This struggle is deeply rooted in one missing piece: a soul. Organisations without a soul climb aimlessly, driven by strategies that neglect deeper human needs. They become entangled in the futile effort to control an environment that resists control, facing friction within an ever-changing landscape. To overcome this, we must shift our approach—not only in the way we climb but in how we perceive the journey and ourselves as leaders within it.
The Missing Ingredient: Why Soul Matters
“A forest is much more than what you see. Trees have evolved to live in cooperative, interdependent relationships, maintained by communication and a collective intelligence similar to an insect colony.” Peter Wohlleben
In our rapidly changing world, traditional, control-based strategies often fall short. They treat organisations as machines and people as cogs. Such approaches attempt to force structure onto a dynamic, ever-changing landscape, ignoring the organization’s need for a guiding essence—a soul.
But imagine an organsation as a living ecosystem, like a coral reef or a forest. Thriving ecosystems are bound by shared intelligence, communication, and interdependence. This is the soul in action—a sense of connection that drives purpose, flexibility, and resilience. When people sense they are part of something meaningful, they align naturally with the larger purpose and contribute their best. Just as each tree, coral, or creature in an ecosystem plays a role that supports the health of the whole, an organisation’s soul can unify everyone in shared purpose and adaptability.
The Approach: How We Create Soulful Organisations
“When you let go of control, you create space for people to contribute their authentic, creative selves to a higher purpose.” Margaret J. Wheatley
While people naturally lean towards self-organisation, rigid structures often suppress this instinct. Control-driven cultures seek to enforce stability, but at the cost of adaptability, resilience, and soul. To foster a soul in an organisation, we need environments that balance purpose with freedom, where people can contribute, innovate, and feel connected to something greater.
A truly soul-centred organisation moves fluidly, like a flock of birds responding to changing winds. While frameworks exist to provide structure, they don’t stifle the organisation’s essence. This flexibility allows the organisation to flow with the changing currents of the environment, evolving in harmony rather than fighting against it. Embracing this approach doesn’t mean an absence of structure but rather one that encourages freedom, creativity, and a shared sense of purpose.
The Process: Shifting Toward Soul-Centric Leadership
“To be aware of oneself as part of the living world is to live from a place of interconnection, which is a higher order of consciousness.” Fritjof Capra
Leading with a soul demands a profound shift in perspective. It means approaching leadership with trust, humility, and a sense of interconnectedness. Leaders who embody these values see the organisation as a living entity, not merely a machine. They cultivate a culture where individual insights and courage coalesce into a collective force that propels the organisation forward.
A soul-centric leader inspires rather than commands. They view each team member as an essential part of the organisation’s larger purpose and create an environment that celebrates and channels each person’s unique contributions. This leadership style fosters an environment where collaboration, resilience, and adaptability come naturally.
The Payoff: Practical Benefits of Soul-Driven Leadership
“An organization, no matter how well designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it.” Dee Hock
The idea of organisational “soul” might seem abstract, yet its impact is concrete. Imagine a workplace where:
Decisions are decentralised, allowing teams to act on their insights and adapt to change in real time.
Trust forms the foundation for collaboration, enabling everyone to bring their best, authentic selves to work.
Hierarchy exists to support the mission, not limit it—creating a framework that flexes with the organisation’s needs rather than stifling progress.
These principles are not merely feel-good ideals; they are the bedrock of organisations that thrive amidst complexity. Just as a tree bends with the wind yet strengthens its roots, an organisation aligned with purpose grows resilient, adapting and deepening its commitment to its mission over time.
Navigating Complexity with a Soulful Compass
“Our challenge is to grow up and become ‘a world that works for all,’ based on love, compassion, humility, and wisdom.” Barbara Marx Hubbard
Navigating today’s complex landscape doesn’t require all the answers in advance. Rather, it requires creating an environment where your team has the tools, trust, and freedom to forge their path. This is a soulful compass grounded in purpose and adaptability, rather than a rigid map.
Leaders with a soulful compass focus on empowering each person to explore, take ownership, and actively contribute to the organisation’s goals. When we nurture this supportive ecosystem, the climb becomes less of a struggle and flows more smoothly. We learn to climb in harmony with the mountain, finding guidance in its path as much as we guide each step ourselves.
An Invitation to the Summit
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” Rumi
The real question for leaders is this: Is your organisation climbing with a soul, or is it struggling under its weight? Transitioning from a control-based model to a soul-centric approach isn’t easy, but the rewards are unparalleled. A soul-driven organisation doesn’t just adapt; it evolves, learning from each step and integrating with the world around it.
To lead with soul is to recognise that both the journey and the destination matter. The climb becomes meaningful when we approach it with purpose, depth, and adaptability. Leaders, as you stand at the base of this mountain of potential, consider this: Are you ready to cultivate a soul within your organisation? Because it’s in this soulful commitment that the journey—and true leadership—truly begins.
Remember, every small step toward soulful leadership brings you and your organisation closer to true resilience and adaptability.
Ready to flip the script on transforming your leadership and your organisation’s soul?
Send a message by clicking here with I’m IN, and together, we’ll explore how to collaborate and bring your organisation’s soul to life—because great leaders like you deserve the support to soar even higher.
In the meantime, keep learning and shining your light on the world! 😊
With gratitude,
Mike
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About Mike Schwarzer
Mike is a Transformation Facilitator and Learning Leader who is passionate about helping leaders and organisations to solve the problems that they have not been able to solve elsewhere.
He works with the underlying mental, behavioural and deeper innate dynamics that drive people’s and organisations’ thinking and actions. He creates and holds the space where they learn how to tap into their inner and outer capabilities in transformational ways and lift their perceptual abilities to see their world, its problems and emerging solutions with fresh eyes.
At the organisational level, Mike’s approach challenges the status quo and hierarchical thinking. He takes you into the world of living ‘open & adaptive’ systems and their self-organising nature. From there you will be able to create a workplace culture that naturally draws from the collective wisdom of all its people and that is highly adaptable to the changing winds of a complex world.
For more information about Mike visit www.mikeschwarzer.com.
