Conclusions

Our intention, or directed energy, has been to show the importance of attention, or awakened awareness, to the process of accessing our pure spiritual potential and that of the people we lead. We have made a case for this being the only way humans are able to break free from the narrow confines of cognition and awaken to the unbounded possibilities existing in our universe. We have also made a case for changing leadership values and practice to reflect a more appropriate way of dealing effectively with the challenges presented by today’s digital networked world. We conclude that, contrary to popular opinion, the skills we propose are not so much provoked by leadership education, as they are evoked from a deep emotional feel for leading and leadership that we call “open source leadership.” While leaders have been around for thousands of years, we have attempted to show how the old rules of leadership are no longer helpful in dealing with the new games of the 21st century. From political leaders like Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte to business leaders like Pierre Omidyar and Steve Jobs, the idea that good leadership is about achieving predictability and control, while being necessary, is no longer sufficient, given the massive changes in the shape of the world economy and their impact on our political systems, our industrial and environmental landscape, our socioeconomic structures, and our personal relationships. In the three types of organization studied — the enterprise, public service and the volunteer community — we discovered patterns of leadership practice that not only yielded remarkable results, but also created a deep sense of meaning and identity for those involved.