Do a quick search on Google and you soon get an idea of the dominant discourse on leadership. It's about position, power, visibility and prestige, and let's face it - ego.

The leader is up the front, visible, the most vocal, often directive, and seen to be "successful", generally in the stereotypical sense of their particular role.

But leaders can be found anywhere, amongst any group or potential group.

It is not uncommon to see a leader supporting others from a position other than the front...you just have to think about walking school buses to know what I mean.

So it really isn't so much about position as it is about process; a way of approaching situations.

Leadership is a dance of sorts, full of give and take as we facilitate a pathway to empowerment for those around us. The power should reside in the person or people being supported.

Through love, kindness and compassion, and with a focus always remaining on our purpose - the difference we, individually and collectively, want to make.

Leading is not about you, but rather what can happen through you. Think "Patch Adams" and noodles, and if that doesn't mean anything to you, go and rent the movie when you get home. Patch has a very natural leadership style, whereby through him, others are empowered.

Our purpose? We are here for the children.

Just as a teacher would in working with a child in the classroom, we want to focus on the thinking of the person or people we are working with in relation to the issue at hand, rather than focussing on the issue ourselves.

More on holding space: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynn-hauka/the-sweetness-of-holding-_b_95582...

How else are we effecting change through this approach? Thanks to our neurological wiring, "people who express empathy and connection towards one another can change and enrich the other's neural connection" (Sinclair, 2016). Imagine the snowball effect if we start the ball rolling...Through us, others can become more compassionate and connected.

These are ideas are a result of personal reflections in response to reading the book “Leading Mindfully” by Amanda Sinclair.

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/business-managemen...