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What is true leadership?
Our world has had an eschewed version of what leadership has been for a long time. There are big differences between true leadership versus hierarchal ‘leadership’ which to me are rulers or dictators.

Hierarchal ‘leadership’ includes status and prestige positions with someone at the top rung of the ladder and someone at the bottom of the totem pole. These structures are often primed with discontent, lack of fairness, inequality, deception, resentments, the push to compromise oneself, and invalidation of who one really is in their gifts and abilities all due to a ranking system.

A ranking system is subjective to the whims of top hierarchal positions –higher/lower, paid more/paid less, power over/power under, more valued/less valued. It’s very ingrained in a competitive mindset of climbing to success through the failures or errors of others—what someone lacks is used against them to move ‘upward’ in a status position. There often lacks compassion, care, and recognizing the individual’s assets in what they can best do or have done, but rather what one can get out of another.

Its theme can rally around ‘do as I say, not as I do’. It’s been a predominant operational system since at least Atlantis. It is embedded in the ways that many family units have positioned themselves around raising children through dominating, authoritarian, and abusive ways.

True leadership is actually not hierarchal because there are team/s who work collaboratively together to support each other to be the best version of themselves. There are mutual goals that fill everyone with passion and motivation. There are shared values, and people bringing their authentic selves, talent and skills to the forefront.

Each role taken is to achieve the goals of the individual and organization, and is significant in itself. It supports the growth of each team member.

Each person is in a role that best utilizes their talents. There are rotations of those who want to help lead different organizational projects depending on what works best for those involved–a resourcing of skills, abilities and virtues that benefits the collaborations.

People tend to think that in an organization there is but one leader who stands out, which then is seen as the head. In truth, that is but one role that can occur because that person has the abilities and skills to present themselves publicly. Again, each role supports the organization’s growth.

Interestingly, in non-hierarchal organizations, each person actually leads and follows. Both of these ‘roles’ are essential to experience as part of the energy of movement interconnecting all the positions, collaborations, and goals. Consider that if we listen to All-that-IS and follow through in what we heard, we will be leading ourselves in a direction by following through in using our Divine inner direction and connection.

There are many organizations today that see these qualities of true leadership as important to refine as that aspect of spirituality is included and recognized as an energetic guidance. We are all evolving with true leadership in organizations being integrated.

Dance
I have participated in partner dance since I was a child. I was taught East Coast Swing/jitterbug and Cha Cha Cha by age 5. I learned standing on my father’s feet…literally.

When I was an adult, I took years of lessons with a world champion West Coast Swing dance instructor (California’s state dance that is now international). She was an incredible teacher with a spiritual outlook. She would break down every movement for interpretive use to play and practice as well as explaining the music, rhythm, beats, how to interpret them with a dance partner, and the social etiquette to move through those awkward moments.

Two of her gems of wisdom were about the roles of lead and follow in that dance. I related these positions to leadership and how relations work together.

The first gem was that in a dance relationship, a creative and caring leader allows for the follower to shine, to bring out her (or his) attributes to complement and interpret the dance and connection with the other, managing the slot space and protecting the follower. A creative and caring follower allows for the leader to open space to communicate a direction, stays in connection with the music, partner, and plays with the leader’s creative moves so that the dance can be interpreted and played with by both of them.

It’s a mutual, supportive connection. So in truth, both are leaders and followers of their platform of interpretations initiating new movement and waiting for signals from the other. Don’t you wish life was more intuitively, creatively, mutually, and tactilely experienced like this?

The second gem was that whomever was off rhythm and noticed first, adjusted and corrected tactfully. This could be as simple as holding a beat or speeding it up. It could also be by verbally expressing with care, “I noticed we are off beat,” and then supporting a lead movement to make the adjustment. Notice that both are involved in the experience, and no one gets blamed.

Nodes
With the astrological nodes moving into Aquarius and Leo, this is a perfect time to bring our strength and ideas forward. We can all be ‘leaders and followers of this platform of interpretations, initiating new movement and open to signals from within and from the others’ to make a difference in the world.

With faith and care,
Judy

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