An Open Letter on Perception and Leadership Beyond the Ego

Over the past year, the area of greatest growth on my leadership journey has been in the realm of perception.

Joseph Jaworski writes in his seminal book Synchronicity that the inner path of leadership enables us to “see with fresh eyes.”

For the longest time, this phrase remained out of reach for me. That is until this past year, when this capacity to perceive with “new eyes” suddenly awakened within me.

Those who follow my posts may have noticed how I’ve been exploring fresh perspectives on workplace challenges on engagement, psychological safety, trust, burnout, and others.

What I’m discovering isn’t just new ways of seeing old problems, but a fundamental shift in how reality itself can be approached.

I’ve experienced something Jaworski describes as a “profound opening.” This is the recognition that when leadership becomes a shared experience, we discover the true power of perception.

Leadership isn’t a solitary achievement of the ego but participation in a larger field of awareness.

It emerges when we create spaciousness for new perceptions, when we engage authentically with others in what Jaworski calls the “architecture of human relationships” that allows new realities to emerge.

This is about participating in what wants to happen rather than imposing our will.

It’s about sensing and actualizing emerging futures rather than predicting and controlling outcomes.

True leadership happens in that generative space between us. When we’re in genuine dialogue, in relationship, and in moments of collective insight when the field becomes conscious of itself through our interactions.

I’ve experienced how leadership insights materialize only when shared and witnessed by another.

The moment of recognition between two people can catalyze something neither could create alone.

What if leadership isn’t something we possess as individuals, but something we participate in together as part of a living system?

How might this shift in perception change not just how you show up in your organization today, but how you understand the very nature of leadership itself?