The Inner Leader's Journey to Scaffolding Purpose and Authentic Leadership

"The inner leader path is the journey we all must take in the 21st century."
— Dee Hock, founder and CEO emeritus, Visa

Leadership in today's world isn't about position or title. It's about awakening to our essential nature and bringing that awareness into everything we do. This is the journey of the inner leader. It's a path that's as crucial as it is misunderstood.

In a world fixated on doing and getting immediate results, the concept of an 'inner leader journey' often falls on deaf ears. It's a path that doesn't make sense to many. It seems a bit too intangible and perhaps even irrelevant in the face of a business world focused on getting things done. Yet, as Albert Einstein, Stephen Covey, Eckhart Tolle and many other luminaries teach us, true transformation begins with a change in our consciousness.

Leadership, in its purest form, is not about titles, strategies, or even actions. It's an expression of our authentic self. It's our essence beyond ego. When we operate from this place of deep awareness, we naturally inspire others. It's about embodying a state of consciousness that others can sense and resonate with. The most powerful leadership doesn't come from doing, but from being. It's not about becoming a better leader, but about letting go of the obstacles that prevent our natural leadership qualities from shining through.

Leadership in the echo of our intrinsic truth and soul in the world.

This journey of inner leadership is not one that can be fully understood intellectually. It must be experienced. Often, it takes exposure to someone already on this path for others to awaken to its profound impact and possibilities.

Despite its transformative potential, the inner leader journey remains a path less traveled. As Joseph Jaworski and other luminaries in this field have observed, many resist this journey due to comfort with familiar leadership paradigms, fear of the unknown, and societal conditioning that reinforces ego-driven approaches.

The vulnerability required and the need to surrender control often conflict with traditional notions of leadership. The journey demands we confront our deepest fears and step into our true power, which can be profoundly uncomfortable. Yet, this discomfort is precisely where growth occurs. The path of inner leadership may be challenging, but its potential for personal and organizational transformation is unparalleled. As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, embracing this journey becomes not just beneficial, but essential for those who aspire to lead with authenticity, wisdom, and lasting impact.

For 13 years, I've been on this journey. I didn't start with a roadmap or a clear destination or a realization that I had started on an inner journey. I simply knew that something in the way we approach leadership and organizational change wasn't working. So I set out to find a better way.

This article isn't a how-to guide. There's no step-by-step process or framework here. On the inner leader journey, there is no path. Instead, I'm offering you waypoints from my own inner odyssey. These are the insights, the 'aha' moments, and the synchronicities that have shaped my path. They're not prescriptive. Your journey will be uniquely yours. But they might encourage you to start your own journey or serve as a guide as you navigate your own way.

We're going to explore how this inner journey can scaffold purpose for yourself, your team, and your organization. We'll look at how it can transform not just how you lead, but who you are as a leader. And we'll consider why this matters now, in an age of AI and rapid technological change.

Instead of focusing on external challenges, inner leadership is about accessing a deeper intelligence and leading with conscious awareness and authenticity. It's about seeing our evolving world as part of our unfolding consciousness.

As we explore these 13 steps, remember this is not a manual to follow, but an invitation to awaken to your own inner leader. The authentic self that exists beyond thought, beyond ego, in the very essence of your being.

Connecting the Dots

You can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. — Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs’ iconic 2005 commencement address at Stanford University highlighted the importance of trusting one’s journey even when the path isn’t clear. Reflecting on my own journey, I see how each step, encounter, and realization has connected in a larger picture that now comes into focus.

As I reflect on my own journey, I'm reminded of Jobs' wisdom. I can see how each step, each encounter, and each realization has been a dot in a larger picture that only now comes into focus. This journey began in 2009 when I left my corporate career, driven by a desire to address the persistent issue of failed organizational change initiatives. This decision marked the first dot in what would become a transformative path.

Just as Jobs encouraged the graduates to have faith that the dots would somehow connect in their futures, my journey unfolded through a series of meaningful steps that, looking back, form a coherent narrative:

The journey unfolded through a series of meaningful steps:

1. Be a Catalyst to Change Something Broken in the World

Principle: The journey begins with recognizing that the world is calling for healing, and we are the ones to answer that call. This realization can be the spark that ignites the quest for inner leadership.

Personal Experience: Throughout my 40-year career in corporate America, I noticed that many change initiatives aimed at enhancing organizations often failed to bring about genuine or lasting change. In 2009, after playing a key role in driving yet another corporate change initiative to a significant achievement, I saw all our progress vanish with the arrival of a new leadership team. Disheartened by this pattern, I resigned from my position without having another job lined up, determined to find a way to change this.

Question: What is it that you care so deeply about changing in the world that you would be willing to step outside your comfort zone to address it?

2. There's Great Power in Small Steps Aligned with a Larger Purpose

Principle: Small actions aligned with a larger purpose can lead to significant improvements. In “Synchronicity,” Joseph Jaworski emphasizes the power of modest, consistent steps toward a larger goal.

Personal Experience: Unsure of where to start, I created a list of 70 ideas and discussed them with colleagues. One idea stood out: interviewing experts and asking them, “What is the best improvement strategy or tactic that has worked well for you?”

Surprisingly, most of them shared insights that went beyond their well-known areas of expertise and shared something much deeper. This interview series and later book was called 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success.

Question: What small, consistent action could you take today that aligns with your larger purpose and excites you about its potential impact?

3. Participate in the Emerging Future by Sharing Your Insights

Principle: Publishing or sharing insights is not just about contributing to a conversation. It's about participating in the collective consciousness. Your participation itself will shape you and your consciosuness in unexpected ways.

Personal Experience: In the summer of 2012, the Cutter Consortium issued a call for papers on the topic of blending agility with structured standards. I saw this as a chance to share important insights gained from discussions with leading experts and practitioners in the field. My central argument was that the ongoing debate persists because our collective focus is misplaced, and we must ask better questions. This idea was contrary to the prevailing opinions and practices at the time, and I was initially doubtful it would be accepted for publication due to its controversial nature.

However, to my surprise, not only was the article published in the next issue of the journal, but it also brought support and and positive feedback from many people. Moreover, it opened up several new and unforeseen opportunities for me.

Question: What unique perspective or insight do you have that, if shared, could positively shape the conversation in your field or community?

4. Harness the Power of Intention

Principle: Drawing from I learend about the power of intention, this waypoint stresses the importance of aligning one's deepest values with one’s actions. This sets the stage for a journey of authentic leadership.

Personal Experience: In 2012, I came across Do You Quantum Think? by Dianne Collins, a pivotal book that reshaped my perception of reality. Collins illustrates that by actively embracing new thought patterns, we can profoundly alter our reality. This insight is grounded in the quantum concept that the observer's viewpoint significantly influences the reality observed.

My transformative journey progressed in 2014 with Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership by Joseph Jaworski. Jaworski highlights the crucial need for aligning our deepest values with our actions, asserting that such alignment forms the essence of genuine, authentic leadership. It's through our intentions that we enact this alignment.

Question: What intention could you set today that would bring your actions into closer alignment with your deepest values and the leader you aspire to be?

5. The Magic of Synchronicity

Principle: When we step into the unknown where there is no path, the universe delivers to us moments of synchronicity. We begin to recognize the interconnectedness of our paths and the universe's role in guiding our journeys.

Personal Experience: In 2009, leaving the traditional corporate world marked the start of an unexpected journey for me, with the right people and opportunities naturally aligning on my path. This clarity emerged when I met Joseph Jaworski in 2014, who introduced me to the concept of synchronicity in leadership. Jaworski's idea that our lives are influenced by meaningful coincidences, urging us to see them as integral to a vast, interconnected universe, profoundly resonated with me. His teachings revealed that these synchronistic events were not mere happenstance but crucial markers leading me to a deeper leadership understanding and my capacity for impactful change.

Adopting Jaworski's outlook, I embraced synchronicity, seeing it as a powerful force that has since guided me to live more authentically and purposefully, with a leadership style rooted more in who I am than what I do. This approach has not just propelled me forward but also deepened my alignment with my core values, transforming my professional and personal life.

Question: What seemingly chance encounter or unexpected opportunity in your life, if viewed as synchronicity, could be guiding you towards a more authentic and purposeful path?

6. Conversations That Matter

Principle: True leadership is found in the power of dialogue—not just as a tool for communication but as a means of connecting deeply with others and the emerging reality.

Personal Experience: True leadership is deeply embedded in the power of dialogue, transcending conventional communication to foster profound connections and reveal new realities. My pivotal experience at a workshop led by Joseph Jaworski, inspired by David Bohm's insights, transformed my understanding of dialogue. Bohm introduced dialogue not merely as a way to exchange ideas but as a transformative process that facilitates a collective exploration, allowing truth and shared understanding to emerge spontaneously without preconceptions.

This workshop illuminated the essence of genuine dialogue—creating a space where participants can collectively uncover insights beyond personal biases through openness, listening, and suspending judgment. Bohm's vision of dialogue challenges us to engage deeply, enabling leaders and participants to co-create a future aligned with our shared human experience. In essence, true leadership involves facilitating spaces for collective wisdom to guide us, leveraging the transformative power of dialogue to navigate complexities and co-create harmonious futures.

Question: What one change could you make in your approach to conversations that would open up a space for deeper understanding and collective wisdom to emerge?

7. The Journey to a Forward Thinking Workplace

Principle: Learn to embrace the relentless forces of change to create innovative leadership and transformative workplace cultures.

Personal Experience: In 2016, I embarked on an insightful journey with the launch of Forward Thinking Workplaces, an interview series where I engaged with pioneering business and thought leaders through six foundational questions. This exploration led me to author a paper for the Cutter journal, titled "A Forward Thinking Workplace." The article sheds light on innovative approaches to leadership and organizational change in the face of today's relentless challenges.

Through this work, I aimed to uncover deeper understanding and strategies for creating workplaces that are not only adaptive but thrive on change contributing to the evolution of leadership from within. This experience underscored the importance for forward-thinking leadership in navigating the turbulent waters of constant change, complexity, and disruption. The forward-thinking approach offers a path toward transformation that begins from the inside out.

Question: What does your inner voice say about how you can contribute to creating a workplace that embraces change and nurtures innovation?

8. A New Understanding of How the Mind Works

Principle: Discovering a new understanding of how our mind works is crucial. This knowledge empowers us to lead from a place free of distraction and ego with greater insight and capacity to listen more deeply.

Personal Experience: Most people are trapped by their own thoughts and a sense of self. Our perception of the world shaped by our upbringing, past experiences, and emotions. This isn't a personal failing; it's a result of how society conditions us from a young age. Yet, a part of our identity transcends the confines of the mind. Liberating ourselves from the dominion of thought is essential for flourishing and achieving enlightened leadership in today's world.

My own transformation in this regard was profoundly influenced in 2016 by Michael Neill's The Inside-Out Revolution. Neill's insights are rooted in Sydney Banks' Three Principles, which articulate a new understanding of how the mind works. When I achieved this understanding, my mind quieted significantly and opened up new pathways of understanding. While there are many avenues to this kind of breakthrough, my experience through Neill's work stands out as a pivotal moment in my personal development. Engaging with the teachings of Eckhart Tolle alongside Neill and Banks can further enrich this journey towards a deeper, more expansive existence beyond the conventional thinking mind.

Question: What new possibility for your leadership could emerge if you were to fully embrace the idea that your thoughts don't define you?

9. Guiding Lights on the Path

Principle: Throughout our journey, we encounter guides and mentors whose wisdom profoundly influences our path. These people provide us with the knowledge, tools, and encouragement needed to navigate the trials and transformations of our quest.

Personal Experience: Dr. Marilyn Jacobson, author of Turning the Pyramid Upside Down, was a pivotal guide in my journey. Our paths crossed initially when a publicist reached out to me, requesting a review for Dr. Jacobson's newly released book. A book that profoundly resonated with me.

Our connection deepened through a serendipitous meeting at a conference where I discussed her work in one of my presentations. It was through Marilyn that I discovered Joseph Jaworski's work, which has had a significant impact on both my personal development and my professional endeavors.

Question: What unique wisdom or insight have you gained from a mentor or guide that, if fully embraced, could elevate your leadership to a new level?

10. Expanding Horizons in the Space Beyond Boundaries

Principle: We can create spaces for ourselves and others that help us expand beyond conventional boundaries. When we listen and learn from each of our unique perspective, we transcend our existing boundaries.

Personal Experience: In the spring of 2020, as the pandemic brought the world to a standstill, I found myself pausing alongside it. This time out led me to question the relevance of my work in the face of unprecedented global change. It was a period marked by uncertainty and introspection. My pause was interrupted when I learned about the the passing of Dr. Marilyn Jacobson, a mentor whose wisdom had guided me through many challenges. Her death prompted me to go back into her teachings, and to my surprise, I found her insights more pertinent than ever. Her words of wisdom offered a beacon of hope in our world that had been turned upside down.

Sharing these revelations with my mailing list, accompanied by a visual representation of her concepts, resulted in an unprecedented wave of feedback and support. This experience not only rekindled my passion but also underscored the timeless relevance of her wisdom in navigating the complexities of our evolving world. The experience inspired me to begin writing and creating designs about all the people, ideas, and events that had influenced my inner journey.

Question: What unique perspective do you possess that, if shared more widely, could help others expand their horizons and transcend their current limitations?

11. Embracing the Unknown

Principle: Reflecting on Joseph Jaworski’s insights on the transformative power of embracing uncertainty, this principle highlights the growth and innovation that come from stepping into the unknown with an open heart.

Personal Experience: The response to my writing on my journey with the inner leader and the designs I was crafting caught me off guard. It fueled my desire to dive deeper, even though I was unsure about my ability to sustain this creative endeavor. Venturing into design using simple shapes was new territory for me, something I hadn't explored before. Initially, I was at a loss for words and ideas for creation. Each week presented a moment of confrontation where, in sheer frustration, I would throw my hands up, faced with no idea what to write about or create.

Yet, four years, over 200 articles and 300 designs later, I sit down to create with the same admission: I start with nothing. Somehow, my most compelling pieces emerge from this void as if by magic. Jaworski himself suggests, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. We are all meant to shine, as children do," underscoring the immense potential that lies within embracing our own light and journey into the unknown.

Question: What exciting possibility might emerge if you were to fully embrace the uncertainty in your next big challenge

12. A Milestone of Collective Leadership

Principle: The development of concepts like I did with LeaderONE.org signified a milestone in the collective journey of my inner leadership. It allowed me to connect many of the dots along the way that I couldn't see coming together.

Personal Experience: I'm highlighting my work at LeaderONE not to be self-promotional but as an example. LeaderONE represents the pinnacle of my efforts over the past 13 years, weaving together the entirety of my work into a singular vision that seeks to transform leadership and the workplace with visionary depth and innovation. We're not just about adapting to change or implementing best practices; we're about fundamentally reinventing ourselves and activating leadership across every level to pioneer the future.

At LeaderONE, we encourage people to embark on an inner odyssey to lead with vision and achieve breakthrough success, leveraging our unique blend of innovative strategies and personal growth. This is crafted for visionary organizations determined to be the architects of the future. At LeaderONE, we help people get on a course for a leadership journey that breaks through boundaries, champions innovation, and prepares you and your organization to navigate and shape the 21st-century landscape with confidence and purpose.

Question: What seemingly disconnected experiences or insights from your own journey, if woven together, could create a unique and powerful vision for your leadership?

13. The Quest for Self-Discovery

Principle: At its core, the inner leader journey is about discovering our true purpose and essence and how it connects to the larger tapestry of life.

Personal Experience: In the heart of my journey, I've discovered that true leadership is the manifestation of our deepest truths, resonating with the essence of conscious leadership as articulated by Joseph Jaworski. It's estimated the upwards of 90% of people in the Western world are stuck in their thinking mind and mind-made sense of self. As a result, the idea of true self-discovery remains an elusive topic at best for most.

In the relentless noise of the external world and in our own minds, the real challenge is silencing the mind's clamor to uncover the clarity and wisdom that lie beneath. This clarity emerged vividly for me during a recent night of uncertainty in the emergency room, revealing the power of spacious awareness and the transformative calm it brings.

Understanding that we are the awareness behind our thoughts rather than the thoughts themselves is pivotal for authentic leadership. It calls on us to let go of our mind-made sense of identities and embrace our true essence. This journey towards authentic being is about personal transformation and redefining leadership in a rapidly evolving world. It is a call to forge a future where leadership stems from our deepest connections and collective wisdom, inviting us all to embark on this transformative path.

Question: What whisper of inner wisdom, if fully listened to and acted upon, could revolutionize your approach to leadership and life?

Unlocking Your Inner Leader for a Transformative Future

As we stand at the threshold of a new paradigm, this inner journey invites us into a world where aligned action and shared purpose can shape a future that resonates with our deepest values and aspirations. The narrative I've shared redefines purpose-driven leadership for the 21st century from an inner perspective. It's aparadigm rooted in self-awareness, interconnectedness, and the limitless potential of the human spirit.

But the path doesn't end here. It calls on each of us to step forward and apply these insights to our own lives. I invite you to consider this final question:

How will you awaken your inner leader to forge a future that reflects not just your own potential and purpose but the collective potential of all humanity?

Let these waypoints assist you in illuminating the way toward transformative growth and impact. Together, guided by our shared insights, let's embark on this transformative path, forging a new leadership paradigm for our time.

Final Thought on Scaffolding Purpose Through the Inner Leader Journey

As I reflect on my 13-year journey, I realize that each step, each encounter, and each insight has been a crucial part of scaffolding my purpose, even when I didn't explicitly recognize it as such. The inner leader path, as articulated by Joseph Jaworski and experienced in my own life, provides a powerful framework for scaffolding purpose in a way that is authentic, transformative, and deeply meaningful.

This journey has taught me that purpose isn't something we find externally or force into existence. Instead, it emerges naturally as we align with our true nature, embrace synchronicity, engage in meaningful dialogue, and courageously step into the unknown. It's a process of continuous unfolding, where each experience builds upon the last, creating a sturdy scaffold that supports our growth and impact in the world.

For organizations and leaders looking to scaffold purpose, the lessons from this inner leader journey offer several valuable insights:

1. Embrace synchronicity and remain open to unexpected opportunities.

2. Cultivate deep, meaningful conversations that allow collective wisdom to emerge.

3. Continuously expand your understanding of yourself and the world around you.

4. Be willing to step into the unknown and trust in your innate creativity.

5. Align your actions with your deepest values and truths.

6. Recognize that true leadership comes from within and is about who you are being, not just what you do.

By following this path, we can create workplaces and leadership paradigms that are not only more effective and innovative but also more fulfilling and aligned with our shared human potential. The journey of scaffolding purpose through inner leadership is ongoing, always inviting us to deeper levels of awareness, authenticity, and impact.

As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, may these waypoints serve as a guide helping us towards a future where purpose is not just a statement on a wall, but a lived experience that transforms individuals, organizations, and ultimately, our world.

You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path and that will make all the difference. — Steve Jobs