Leaders are always at choice, and our choices carry tremendous weight since they impact the whole. Some choose to lead by inspiration and influence. Others choose to lead by tight control and focus on being right rather than doing what is right. A few decide to lead with inclusion; the majority of others lead with fear.

Decision-making is the backbone of Leadership.

Leaders must be able to make decisions that drive results and effectively enable the organization's strategic vision. The problem in corporate America today is that many leaders react instead of reflecting and deciding. This is one of the root causes of toxic workplace cultures.

Toxic workplaces are common. About one-fifth of American workers consider their work environment toxic. This is extremely alarming considering 1/3 of their life will be spent at work. That's 90,000 hours throughout a lifetime. 

How does this relate to Leadership? 

Leaders are the shapers of workplace cultures. 

Therefore, leaders that exude toxic behavior are permission slips for the team members who emulate the same behavior. 

So what is toxic behavior?  

Toxic behavior is generally defined as any behavior that negatively impacts others.

Therefore reactionary leaders, who are reacting instead of deciding, are cancerous to all corporate cultures. Reacting is not choosing. Our choices can only be made from two places: 

Fear or Trust.

Reacting is a subconscious choice-making mechanism that comes from fear. When leaders make choices from fear, the ego drives these choices, which feeds on the status quo. The ego focuses on saving face, protecting their status quo, being right, coming out on top, and winning above all cost. These reactionary leaders lack awareness of how their reactions impact the whole, which results in man-eating dog culture. 

On the flip side, the leaders who decide from a place of trust focus on creating win-win environments. Their decisions come from a place of assuredness in themselves and their team members. These leaders operate from a high level of consciousness and are incredibly aware of how their behavior shapes their team members' behavior, AKA: Company Culture.

High-conscious leaders walk their talk. They just don't lead by example; they lead on purpose at work and in their personal lives. Their authenticity allows them to see past a reaction and truly comprehend the impact of their choices. These leaders decide they do not react. 

Today, we find ourselves in the heart of the Great Resignation. As of August 2021, this resignation has led to 4.3 million Americans quitting their jobs.  The pandemic is not responsible for the mass exit of American professionals that we are currently experiencing in Corporate America. The pandemic just offered the average American a space to reflect on where and how they would like to invest their time. 

For the first time in their life. These brilliant professionals came:

 Face to face with the reality that we all have an expiration date.  

And they had a chance to ask themselves:

What do I really want?

Their answer: 

Not A Toxic Leader.

I will NOT outsource my Talents or my Time to a TOXIC CULTURE. 

This has led to the saturation that we are all experiencing in the labor market. 

There isn't a company in America that is not asking themselves:

How do we attract & retrain high potential talent?

Easy. 

Purge the toxicity from your culture by creating Leadership Competencies that align with the future's humanistic work culture.

How? Bring on:

High Conscious leaders, which are the pioneers of humanistic, inclusive workplace cultures. They are the ones that will be able to shift the current toxic work culture after this pandemic and attract conscious team members back into the workforce. 

Normalize their leadership style, 

Include them at the table &  if you have to create a seat for them. 

If the seat does not suffice.

Start a new table!

This blog post is an urgent call for all leaders to awaken and rise. 

We are at an inception point; we can choose to lead from a place of EGO, which has been modeled for years. And look where we are today.

Or we can choose to revolutionize and innovate our workplaces, which will ultimately lead us to create workplace cultures where people feel seen and heard. Cultures that celebrate authenticity and provide their people with autonomy, freedom, and purpose. 

We can choose to lead from a place of INCLUSION & TRUST. 

The choice is YOURS.

Rooting for you awakening always,

Amber Murat- Mindset Liberator