“Serenity is the true Source of Life Energy.” This is not only my deep personal belief, I also feel that besides integrity and mastery, Serenity should be a key quality of any leader in the 21st Century. In our complex world where change has not just become the only thing constant but where change is constantly accelerating, people cry out for simplicity and deceleration. In these times, leaders should not stir the water additionally, but be the rock in the surf. As employees feel increasingly worried and anxious about the future of work, the Serene Leader© portraits an aura of tranquility and positive energy. Just like the muse provided to the readers by a POET:

• People before Processes: Traditionally, processes, policies and systems are designed to efficiently run the business. However, any action and transaction in business is run by people. “Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business” says Sir Richard Branson. And as he walks the talk with people, his success in business speaks for its own. Serene Leaders put people first and foremost, designing processes, policies, systems and structures in a people-centric way – and business will succeed.
• Organism before Organization: “The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.” Putting this quote by Peter Drucker in other words, an organization is only as good as it is able to enable the best in her people. A company that sees organization as a semi-rigid structure of positions, which are regularly reorganized / restructured to attune to the business, will not succeed in the long run. Serene Leaders see a company as living organism of people, growing into their best version of themselves if allowed and supported to do so. Serene Leaders are great coaches, listening to understand and growing the individual potential in every person.
• Execution before Engagement: “Engagement does not create execution; execution creates engagement.”. While this may sound counterintuitive, it is one of the provocative statements in the FranklinCovey program “4 Essential Roes of Leadership”. Think about it for a moment. While it is surely noble to drive employee engagement through above-market compensation, special perks and after work parties, the positive effects will evaporate rather soon if work itself is not exciting. The effective execution of an aspirational strategy towards a desirable vision generates lasting engagement. Serene Leaders move from having fun@work to ensuring work@fun.
• Trust before Task: From young we are conditioned to focus on tasks and results, setting expectations and advising people what to do. However, empowered people empower your business. The precondition for empowerment is an environment of trust which is mainly cultured by the leaders. In the words of inspirational thought leader Simon Sinek “If we are unwilling to take the risk to trust others, then others will be unwilling to take the risk to trust us.” Serene Leaders don’t wait to trust until trustworthiness is proven, they extend trust until proven wrong – and go the extra mile to restore trust. A company culture is the glue that keeps it all together; a company culture based on trust is like superglue. Serene Leaders see trust as the foundation of any interaction and see an opportunity to create trust every day.

Thus, be a Serene Leader©, leading along POET.

Discover more about being a POET leader and enroll in our online course “Unfold the Serene Leader in You“.

© ATvisor™; “Serene Leader©” is a term coined by Alexander Trost; Picture Source: i-pinimg.com