Why Everyone Is Adopting This Leadership Style: Self-Leadership For Times Of Change

Hedi
Aug 20
3 min read

By Hedi Schaefer

The Old Playbook Is Dead

Once upon a time, leadership meant knowing the answers, giving orders, and expecting compliance.

That world? It doesn’t exist anymore.

Today’s employees don’t just clock in for paychecks. They crave purpose, clarity, and leaders who actually walk their talk.

The Soulful Dimension

Emotional intelligence now outweighs technical skills in hiring decisions. Seventy-one percent of employers prioritize it over hard capabilities.

The data reveals a fundamental shift. We've moved beyond purely analytical leadership toward approaches that engage hearts and minds simultaneously.

Soulful leadership means leading with purpose and authentic connection. It requires understanding what motivates people beyond basic compensation. Leaders must create meaning, not just manage tasks.

This dimension acknowledges that inspiration drives performance more than intimidation ever could.

The soulful leader asks different questions.

Instead of "What needs to get done?" they ask "Why does this matter?" Instead of "How do we hit targets?" they explore "How do we align individual purpose with collective goals?"

The Strategic Component

Strategy remains critical, but its application has evolved.

Traditional strategic thinking followed linear paths. Leaders created five-year plans and expected reality to comply. Modern strategy requires adaptive thinking and systems awareness.

Systems thinking has become essential because complex organizations demand complex solutions. The best leaders understand interconnections, feedback loops, and emergent patterns.

Strategic leadership today means navigating uncertainty while maintaining clear direction. It requires balancing long-term vision with short-term adaptability.

Strategic leaders think in systems.

They see how decisions ripple through organizations.
They anticipate second and third-order effects.
They design structures that can evolve.

This strategic dimension prevents soulful leadership from becoming purely inspirational without substance.

The Self-Led Foundation: Self-Leadership For Time Of Change

Self-leadership forms the foundation of this new model.

The statistics reveal a massive gap. Ninety-three percent of employees don't understand what their organization is trying to accomplish. Eighty-five percent of leaders fail to define clear priorities. Eighty-four percent of workers describe themselves as "trying but failing" or "avoiding" accountability.

These numbers expose the cost of leaders who haven't mastered themselves first.

Self-led leaders model the behavior they expect.

They take ownership of outcomes.
They demonstrate continuous learning.
They regulate their emotions under pressure.

This dimension recognizes that authority flows from competence and character, not position alone.

Self-leadership creates distributed accountability throughout organizations. When leaders govern themselves effectively, they enable others to do the same.

Integration in Practice

The power emerges when these three dimensions work together.

Soulful leadership without strategy creates inspiration without direction.
Strategic thinking without soul generates plans that people won't follow.

Both dimensions without self-leadership produce leaders who can't execute their own vision.

The integrated approach looks different in daily practice.

These leaders start meetings by connecting tasks to purpose. They make decisions through both analytical and intuitive filters. They hold themselves accountable before holding others responsible.

I observe this integration most clearly in crisis situations. Traditional leaders either become overly emotional or coldly analytical. The new model allows for both empathy and clear thinking simultaneously.

The Competitive Advantage

Organizations adopting this leadership model gain measurable advantages.

Teams led by emotionally intelligent leaders show improved performance across multiple metrics.

Strategic systems thinking enables faster adaptation to market changes. Self-led cultures reduce management overhead while increasing innovation.

The compound effect creates sustainable competitive advantage.

Soulful connection improves retention. Strategic thinking improves decision quality. Self-leadership improves execution speed.

Companies that develop leaders across all three dimensions build organizational resilience that purely technical or purely inspirational approaches cannot match.

Moving Forward

This leadership model isn’t just another framework. It’s a call to grow from the inside out.

The old way taught skills. The new way asks for transformation.

Because you can’t lead people deeper than you’ve led yourself.

That means practicing self-awareness, systems thinking, and authentic connection. Not as theory, but as daily habits. Small choices that compound into culture.

And here’s the truth: the shift is already happening. Teams, markets, even generations are demanding leaders who bring clarity, grounded power, and humanity.

The only question left is:

👉 Will you be one of them?