The magic of holistic leadership
Something is changing.
We live in an age where speed has become the new currency. Everything is accelerated, optimised, digitised. But the faster the pace, the greater the longing for meaning, clarity and genuine connection. 70 per cent of all transformations fail not because of strategies, but because of the people who are supposed to implement them. By managers who act out of fear and disguise that fear as strategy. Control is confused with strength, action with impact. But speed is no substitute for clarity – and activity is no substitute for awareness. Leadership that wants to shape the future needs a new attitude. One that takes place not only in the mind, but in the entire human system.
Holistic leadership is not a method, nor is it another model that can be ‘learned’ – it is a process of awareness. It is an attitude towards life – a conscious way of being. It begins when we have the courage to face ourselves:
„Self-Awareness is the starting point of Leadership.“
– Bill George
At our last Living Sense Executive Get-Together in November, which took place at our premises, we talked about precisely that – the magic of holistic leadership. It was one of those gatherings where you could sense that something was shifting – not just in people’s minds, but in their consciousness. We discussed what it really means to lead today. Not in the traditional sense – with targets, key performance indicators and control systems – but as an attitude that inspires life. There are signs of this everywhere – good ideas, inspiring concepts, courageous experiments. Awareness is growing. And with growing awareness comes the courage to break new ground.
And yet, in many cases, this crucial step is still missing: implementation.
Many sense the change, anticipate what could be possible – but the new often remains stuck in their minds instead of becoming visible in their actions. This is where the real challenge lies: awareness needs to be lived. Not discussed, but embodied. Not planned, but practised. Holistic leadership connects the head and the heart, thinking and feeling, knowledge and intuition.
We also talked about the quality of time in which we live – about the rapid development of artificial intelligence, global upheavals, and growing complexity. And about the fact that leadership today has less to do with control than with awareness. Perhaps that is the real invitation of our time. No longer to control the waves, but to feel the rhythm. Not to act reactively, but to shape consciously.
Holistic leadership encourages us to look inward without losing touch with the world. It calls on us to broaden our thinking, deepen our feelings and anchor our actions. It is the answer to a time when it is no longer enough to be smart – we must become whole. The quiet power – perhaps that is precisely where its magic lies. In the quiet, unagitated presence of a person who leads themselves – with awareness, compassion and clarity.
Inspirational leadership does not arise from pressure, but from inner freedom. Not from concepts, but from a lived attitude. It manifests itself in moments of authenticity, in encounters where something resonates.
Because only those who keep moving leave tracks in the snow.
