CLICK BELOW TO REDISCOVER HUMANITY
A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

New Realities, New Possibilities, New Leadership

Now is the time.

The time to open up, recognize the realities of the journey ahead, and stop beckoning for the unavailable past. Fair to say I’ve made mistakes in my life. Some big ones, that prompted me to desperately search for the rewind button. It wasn’t a onetime thing for me. And over decades of exploration, I am certain the rewind button in life does not exist.

Therefore, I am perplexed by the constant, ubiquitous plea of “get-back-to” statements applied to some longing for a nostalgic state of being.

Let’s just hit “PLAY.” Let go and move forward. Envisioning the possibilities ahead.

With our heads up and eyes forward, fully cognizant of how fast everything changes, and the realization that change will continue to be more rapid and more significant going forward, we need new leadership.

The people who will lead us, the voices that matter the most, have flipped in the reality of crisis. We already knew we have a leadership crisis. The path we were on is neither desirable nor sustainable. As we emerge from this current situation, it will be a grave error to “get back to normal.”

Normal lacked vision, beholden to the strongholds of a bygone era, the controls of status quo.

These patterns will be broken, barriers removed. The leaders of the future are those of the givers, not the takers – those that unite all, not the dividers.

What has long been reviled as weakness; care, compassion, love, empathy, will be our greatest strengths. The strength of Heart-Centered, Human-First voices is the future. The leadership we need. Let’s all claim it together.

If we go back, rather than forward, the acknowledgment and value of individual contributions will always be a back-and-forth struggle, and the authoritarian leadership model will remain in place.

From “Believership: The Superpower Beyond Leadership,” I write:

“Self-leadership is a necessity to generate the energy needed to leap forward and address the widening gap between current-state human capacity and the accelerating disruptions in business. In a corporate environment, self-leadership is better described as “guided governance.” This is a critical, yet rare, skill for future Leaders. But it is not taught. In complex organizations, guided governance empowers with intent, rather than control. Implemented well, accountability shifts to the individual and peers, which enables expanding capacity and continuity.

One iconic Leader cannot command a company, a village or a distributed workforce as they did in days of old. When we open the opportunity for all to seek their mission, grow along the path of their desire, explore and expand, people will respond with their best efforts. With this enlightened approach, companies will attract, develop people, open their minds to varied experiences, backgrounds, expanded values and honor personal choice. This shift will allow the diversity we know is needed. With this inclusivity, the best will rise, and our outdated model of Leadership can be retired.” *

The call to action from expert sources is plentiful. However, the propensity to adopt change is steeped in historical justification and denial. This little excerpt from BELIEVERSHIP illustrate the open and shared intent of our journey together:

“All of us are acutely aware of the challenges we face. Significant evidence illustrates that the current state-of-affairs is neither desirable nor sustainable. With a belief that each of us, each of you, is part of this solution, global community members support each other, embrace and lift others. We celebrate our gifts, our diversity and our individuality to infuse hope, achievement, and happiness in professional environments and personal lives. HumansFirst, an opt-in community, was created to connect and build relationships with others from around the world. Together we exercise our creativity, intuition, and innovation. We share our experiences and trials and spark discovery through focused and open dialogue. We inspire outcomes that raise achievement, fulfillment, growth, and wellbeing as we solve today’s biggest workforce challenges.” *

“When our hearts and minds are connected in purpose, and when we honor the commitment to others in our relationships, each person excels. Teams thrive, and the company expands. Represent what you believe, operate with purpose, and act on those beliefs. The great mistake many Leaders and employees make is acting against their values and beliefs; doing as they are told; or feeling obligated to do something for fear of losing what may not be worth having. Over time, the mental and emotional costs are too high.

To take your power back, shift your intent from “what I have to keep” to “what I have to give.” Holding on to something while sacrificing something greater is a decision based on scarcity and fear. When you are concerned for others and are aware of your gifts to give, your confidence rises. You’re able to remain in a state of possibilities. You will help others. You’ll lead.” *

We now have this opportunity to recognize and embrace an enlightened path forward. We must accept the blatant realities of the current state and untether our imaginations, strengthening our beliefs in a better future and break free from the strongholds of status quo that are deeply rooted in a bygone era that no longer serves us.

I believe in you. You are worthy. You matter. You are the future. Let’s go!

*(Excerpts from “Believership” © 2019 Mike Vacanti All Rights Reserved.)

Mike Vacanti
Mike Vacantihttps://mjvacanti.com/
Mike believes, “It’s more than what we accomplish – it’s who we become along the journey!” His mission is to Lift Others, helping people discover their potential, embrace a growth mindset and achieve at inspired levels. Mike has transformed businesses and inspired people to perform at levels they didn’t think possible. Mike's known as a great listener and collaborative, creative problem solver. For generating speed and confidence through innovation and transformation. His current endeavors as advisor, consultant, and keynote speaker, are shifting the belief in what is possible and opening hearts to a better vision and future of business around the globe. Sharing his extensive career of invention, reinvention and highly complex business combinations, he consistently delivers on the belief that the heart of any organization is People – People drive results. Mike has released his new book, BELIEVERSHIP: The Superpower Beyond Leadership, and is the Founder of HumansFirst, a global community of positive change catalysts. Following many years in advertising and marketing, He launched early-stage start-ups & led M&A initiatives for publicly traded tech companies. Five-times he was thrust into the chaos of transformation and helped people navigate the doubt, fear, and chaos of significant change. His teams exceeded expectations, consistently beat the challenge, learned a lot and had some fun.

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


8 CONVERSATIONS

  1. This is very insightful, Mike. Thank you for sharing. The universe creates business as a platform for accumulating blessings; careers as a platform for uplifting people; wealth as a tool for benefiting others. And things are always in the intention to transform into its balanced status. With our minds turn together, showing love and kindness, the world will be transforming…

  2. Mike – I so appreciate your perspective: “As we emerge from this current situation, it will be a grave error to “get back to normal.” We have to ask ourselves, what have I learned about myself during this time? How can I accelerate my giving instead of my getting? Thank you for this kick in the pants, slap upside the head wake-up call.

  3. Coronavirus has faced companies with one of the most complex challenges in recent years. CEOs must be able to manage critical issues in the short term while managing to develop a new vision for the future. The first challenge is certainly that of protecting the health and safety of the people who work there and analyzing the most immediate risks for their business. The COVID-19 emergency can represent an accelerator of change in companies, which also requires a greater exercise of delegation by people with a coordinating role and a greater sense of accountability by team members.
    At the same time, however, the CEO’s job is to also look to the future: rethinking plans and organizations from several points. This crisis will change the way we see and manage business forever and will put companies facing old challenges – such as the return of borders, nationalisms and blockages to the movement of people and goods – and new ones – such as risk management strategic.
    A broader vision, which is not limited to solving the most pressing problems, will be necessary to create a new, more resilient business. Risk is a pervasive and intrinsic aspect of contemporary, interconnected and globalized society, which moves and changes at a speed never seen before. The CEOs are called to imagine and implement strategic risk management systems, which include geopolitical, social and health risks and which, thanks to the means made available by technology and innovation such as Data Analytics, are predictive for anticipating the greater number of risks.
    However, there is one consideration that I want to add about the perplexities if in cases of crisis we must look to the past or go forward without looking back.
    I agree that the hardness in guiding people can create unnecessary risk and unnecessary turbulence in the organization. But, if the company is living a turbollent moment, a leader must guide necessarly with some authority. Almost always they are the risk and turbulence that create the leader “hard”.
    In general, I would say that in conditions of great danger or high risk and of justified urgency or high turbulence, the leader has to be even authoritarian.
    The basic issue is not command or not, but how to guide. As well as, put the alternative between being authoritarian and be a motivator, is not always correct or possible. The second behavior is not substitutive of the first, but only part of the first: if the leader cannot motivate or have employees not willing to be motivated, he must anyway lead to the goals.

  4. In a time where hunkering down inside four walls might lead us to think that everything is on “pause,” your call to action is vital and timely. We can’t sit on our hands and wait for things to get back to “normal.” We have no idea what normal is, we probably won’t recognize it when and if it comes along, and we might be thankful if we don’t worry about normal and take action to do what we need to wherever we are needed. Thanks for the clear and uplifting leadership that has become your hallmark.

    • Actions and practices always leads to solutions, no matter how twisted the path is. Thank you for sharing your insights, Tom.

TAKE STROLL INSIDE 360° NATION

TIME FOR A "JUST BE." MOMENT?

ENJOY OUR FREE EVENTS

BECAUSE WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER