by Emanuel Kuntzelman

Looking ahead to the new paradigm of cooperation, compassion and spirituality in the Age of Transformation, it is clear that it will take a whole community of transformed leaders to turn things around in our troubled world.

What is leadership transformed? We could start by saying it is the emergent model of leadership that taps into the highest potential of our creative capabilities and is driven by our inner spirit. Evolved leaders have the power to visualize future possibilities, not only within, but for social systems as a whole. We must move beyond our rather narcissistic obsession with personal development and shift our perspective from short-term, individualistic results to sustainable, long-term outcomes that are good for the whole.  Each one of us can contribute to this momentous shift as a soul-based leader and consequently fulfill our moral obligation to improve society.

We have the opportunity to develop these leadership skills at a very special retreat in May at the Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey Bay, CA, hosted by co-presenting organizations Greenheart Transforms and ITP International. Throughout the four days of retreat activities and discussion, we will work on nurturing our inner leader in a number of ways.

Delving deep inside ourselves, we can find our true potential by first identifying traits that are holding us back from being part of the transformative process. This can be a great challenge. I have said many times in previous blogs and lectures that we are a product of cultural conditioning and socialization processes. As a result, components of our psyche have been conditioned to think that we are less than we are, or that our beliefs are too far outside the cultural norms to make a positive difference. We need to move beyond those self-imposed limitations and rekindle the inspirational flame of the true inner Self.

Once we’ve gotten in touch with that higher Self a rather startling realization will arise. We rediscover the altruistic true nature of the soul which breeds our will to create goodness. There is an evolutionary impulse inside each of us, compelling us to reach for the highest level of love and compassion. Leadership transformed allows us to re-discover that highest Self in our nature, dust it off, bring it out of the closet and say “Here I am!”

One of the most beautiful aspects of the spiritual search is when we understand that the more we become the highest sense of Self, the more we see ourselves as part of the Whole. One of the key milestones one can recognize when they are well on the path is when they stop being preoccupied with old number one and realize that “I am what I am because of who we all are.”

Upon reaching this stage of understanding, the transformed leader must then make a plan to take action on what stirs the soul. In the presence of others we affirm and empower our commitment to the community of humanity by vowing to reignite our life career towards bringing individuals and groups together in an ever growing chain reaction of social change.

This is our purpose as leaders, to tap into our divine nature and share it with the world. We are excited to have Michael Murphy summarize this important concept during our Leadership Transformed retreat. Author of many books focusing on human potential and co-founder of Esalen Institute, Murphy will be elaborating on our purpose to find this divine spark in everything, everyone and everywhere. It is our responsibility as co-creators on this evolutionary path to become our highest selves so we can in turn come closer to becoming the nature of the whole.

Twentieth century author and philosopher, Teilhard de Chardin, was able to articulate this idea of finding greater connection to the whole through awareness of our individual inner Self.  In his seminal work The Phenomenon of Man, he wrote:  “The peak of ourselves, the acme of our originality, is not our individuality but our person; and according to the evolutionary structure of the world, we can only find our person by uniting together.”  Our unique selves do not disappear by merging into the cosmic soup, like drops entering the ocean, but rather, as Teilhard says, “each particular consciousness (is) becoming still more itself and thus more clearly distinct from others the closer it gets to them in Omega.”

The application of this to a transformed view of leadership is that we have an evolving Self.  The closer it comes to understanding the whole, the more individual it becomes in its own right.  Instead of getting lost in the pantheistic All, we become One with our Selves in the panentheism of evolutionary love.  We become ever more unique by approaching the essence of the Whole.  Then, by embracing our unique leadership skills, we see the path forward as to how best to take action and create the global community of organizations as they combine forces, uniting in a common cause to transform society.

These are some of the key points we shall emphasize to help participants in “Leadership Transformed”  walk away with a renewed sense of purpose and an action plan to take their life career to new heights as transformed leaders creating a chain reaction of positive ripple effects to change the world.  Join this incredible movement of change-makers May 17-20, 2013, when Greenheart Transforms and ITP International share in the journey of rediscovering our potential as soul-based leaders. For more information on how to register or to learn more about the details of this amazing opportunity, please visit greenhearttransforms.org.