In “Being Accountable To You” we emphasized the need to take care of ourselves first so that we could take better care of others and how to find accountability to ourselves. This can not only work for you as an individual, but also in your workplace where we are constantly asked to do things for others in the name of being a “team player” and supporting the business. We just need to answer some obvious questions first.

All of us have put in our 10,000 hours towards mastering our strengths.  We all have overcome countless fears and doubts in our journey towards success.  We have discovered our expectations of ourselves, where they came from, and have chosen to either accept or reject the expectations others have placed on us. We’ve even explored how the concept of the linear path to success is an illusion.  So, why then, wouldn’t we all be operating in our most authentic truth and as our fullest selves?  The answer, quite simply is that we choose to not be accountable to ourselves by not putting ourselves first.

If we believe that everyone has talents and strengths, then we must challenge ourselves to actually live from that truth. To more fully live into the possibility that everyone is talented and exceptional in some meaningful way, we must begin to unravel the code of the corporate mindset and challenge the underlying assumptions that govern it. The first step is to realize that all of our previous success still counts towards our greatness and readiness to perform.

Often, we get asked, “what exactly IS the corporate mindset” and why are we so hell-bent on flipping it? And, perhaps most importantly, what is it about the corporate mindset that keeps people from being leaders?

These are critical questions, and ones that, without answers, make much of the rest of what we talk about and do less relevant, if not altogether absurd.

Like art, the corporate mindset is somewhat difficult to define, but oh so obvious when you see it and feel its limitations.

Today there are plenty of examples of success being redefined outside traditional models. However, so many people still judge their own success by the linear model of success. In life you are taught that one’s progression through life is on some linear path. That there are progressive developmental phases that you are supposed to go through in life, starting with birth and ending with death.

Abusive leadership is not a new term but it is an increasingly more pervasive issue that has no formal resolve in a society that continues to promote bad leaders forward. Abusive leaders are individuals who leverage emotional and/or verbal abuse as a part of their leadership practice.