Yoga and Leadership - Assignment Example

Mary Oliver, the great American poet once said, “what will you do with this one wild and precious life”. Personally, this conveys courage that is a requisite for being an exemplary leader. Leaders consider life as precious and are thus willing to act deliberately in service to life. Moreover, leadership is an inward journey of self, and every moment of every second of every day is an opportunity for leadership for everyone. This reinforces the idea that leadership is no longer just for those who seek the title of leader; leadership is apparently changing and encompasses not just a select few but everyone who wishes to exercise it.

The world relies on each one to heed the call of his or her heart; leadership is about responding to something greater than oneself. Concretely, leadership may be exercised in the seemingly dull routine of everyday: raising a child, solving a problem, starting a business – or something as challenging as running for president. It might also mean leaving the common comforts of life to seek the life of a naturalist or quit a high paying job to fulfill the longing of becoming a poet. It could also mean being called to teach, to be kind, to do better, or to just be.

Peoples own unfolding, their own call to leadership is that they be willing to listen to whatever it is that is calling them. The call and the response to this call is a new paradigm of leadership. Liberating one’s heart to inspire and lead others to do the same is my new definition of transformative leadership. That is, when people shed light on who it is they really are, it inspires those around them to show their fullest and most brilliant selves. Conventionally, the definitions of leadership construe images of political leaders, presidents and CEO’s, and less of people who have journeyed into their own personal depths and darkness to discover who they truly are.