Leadership Insights

Trusting the Path

In midst of the warm and
the cold the path will always
find us, illuminating
the wisdom of the wilderness

How does it feel, when we effort and try hard to make things happen to get ourselves on the right path, constantly assessing where the next turn is and whether it’s the right one? And how does it feel when instead we set our intent of what we want and trust that the path will find us? It’s a very different state of being in the world.

This is how I now walk across Karura Forest, a beautiful forest in Nairobi which has survived thanks to Wangari Maathai, a true hero of the modern world. I grew up using maps to orient myself. My father was great at teaching us using maps to walk over mountains and in towns in foreign countries. He gave us a map and let us figure out where to go. I considered myself great at using maps but poor in orientation without them. read more…

The Perfect Path

It is imperfection
in that very moment that
is the path when
we release it

I am delighted to hereby launch a new series of blogs called “Leading with Radiance”. “Leading with Radiance” is a body of work I am developing. It is about enabling people to lead themselves and others by consciously and mindfully shaping their energy field. The body of work draws on cutting edge neuroscience, conscious creation, ancient wisdom, a range of transformation tools and modern leadership approaches.

It is suited to individuals, people in organisations and entrepreneurs. Latest science shows that our electromagnetic field which we create through our consciousness and emotions radiates at least six meters from our body and beyond, impacting people and events. Scientific instruments which area able to measure this field are getting increasingly more sophisticated. read more…

“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” ― Pema Chödrön

Last year, after having lived many years abroad, I started a long-distance course at a German university. Whilst other students are based in Germany, I am doing the course from Nairobi. As I navigated my way through the Germany university system (and German culture:)), I started to develop a sensation of non-belonging and isolation. It became a strong feeling in the background as I went about my assignments, and surged at particular moments when I was interacting with the administration, solving issues such as delays in receiving postal correspondence. I told myself that university staff wasn’t sensitive to my location, though they were doing pretty well in supporting me! Then, in an online seminar students had to pair up for an assignment. read more…

“It’s not about stuff, it’s about state” ― Victoria Castle

Some days the world looks grey and some days it looks bright blue …or so it seems. In reality it depends on how much we allow it to shine or unshine in its own ways and us aligning with that particular shine, as it is.

As those of you regularly reading my blogs know, I like to give examples of stuff going a bit wrong in my life …to illustrate a reflection! Well, here is another such situation:

Earlier this week my world turned dark grey, to give the most favourable description of it. Sometimes these dark greys seem to just drop on us out of the sky. This time it had some forerunners of grey.

read more…

“The heart of a wise person lies quiet like limpid water” ― Cameroonian proverb

In early January on my return from a break I went to a cash point of a bank I do not myself bank with. My card was swallowed for no apparent reason. I had just been away for several weeks, had hardly any cash on me, no fresh food at home and it was a Sunday afternoon. The bank which operates the cash point was closed. The customer service I called informed me that my card would be destroyed, not even considering an apology. I could feel the sensation of anger climbing up through my chest and had to focus on staying calm and centered, using the few hundred shillings I had on me to buy vegetables for a couple of meals. Further calls to the customer service the next day did not progress my issue. read more…

“With a little seed of imagination we can grow a field full of hope” ― Nigerian Proverb

According to Peter Senge holding a personal vision is the first step in developing ‘Personal Mastery’, the term he uses for the discipline of personal growth and learning. In an organisational context Personal Mastery of individuals is essential for organisational learning: “Organisations learn through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not guarantee organisational learning. But without it no organisational learning occurs.” (Senge, 2006, P. 129) Thus, enabling and encouraging personal growth and learning becomes a fundamental part of leadership – by fostering this in oneself and in people we work with. read more…