Do you agree that this complex world we live in requires leaders to be more aware? This is one of the main ideas addressed in this summary of the book "Shakti Leadership" by Nilima and Raj, which, according to them, will facilitate the path towards a sustainable world for us.

Shakti leadership, according to the Hindu tradition, involves the natures of man and woman in one being.

The book places as essential, the union of masculine and feminine aspects (active and passive, heart and reason), to transform the current leaders, making them more aware.

The world with so many apparent ills needs more than ever care. Therefore, the challenges of contemporary times demand leadership with feminine attributes, the "maternal qualities" translated into all forms of care for the other, and for oneself.

It seeks to awaken and balance female and male energy in everyone, in order to develop holistic leadership skills. Shakti expresses the creative force from which all structures arise. Nilima and Raj unveil their elements in a very accessible and easy to understand way.

Do you want to know more? Then continue reading this summary that we have prepared for you!

About the book "Shakti Leadership"

The book "Shakti Leadership: Embracing Feminine and Masculine Power in Business", was published in 2016. It has 200 pages divided into 8 chapters.

The work has varied inspiring examples, in which Bhat and Sisodia show us how to access the infinite energy - Shakti - the source of life, and to lead with a creative, cooperative, and empathic style.

About the authors Nilima Bhat and Raj Sisodia

Nilima Bhat is a facilitator of personal transformation, an individual and organization coach. She is an international speaker and self-awareness trainer for the balance between work and life, women in leadership positions, among others.

Conducted leadership training for Microsoft, Vodafone, Whole Foods Market, Ypo, as well as academic institutions and development organizations. She is an active supporter of the Conscious Capitalism movement.

Raj Sisodia obtained a Ph. D. in marketing and industrial policy from Columbia University and is an internationally recognized academic for having developed pioneering work in business and marketing strategies.

He is a professor of Global Business and academic researcher at Whole Foods Market and Conscious Capitalism at Babson College.

In addition, Raj Sisodia is the author of seven books, including the bestsellers "Conscious Capitalism" and "The secrets of the most loved companies".

His work has been featured in The New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times and was featured on the cover of Istoé magazine in 2012.

To whom is this book indicated?

The book is indicated for all those in a leadership position. The world needs leaders with a conscious, creative, cooperative, and inclusive mentality.

"Shakti Leadership: Embracing Feminine and Masculine Power" is complete work for those who are or who wish to be leaders.

Main ideas of the book "Shakti Leadership"

The prevailing leadership paradigm was born out of patriarchy and has its origins in military thought, exacerbating masculine values;
In the yogic tradition, Shakti is the feminine principle of divine energy;
Shiva represents consciousness and Shakti represents energy, the two complement each other;
Although we are successful and successful, if we are not rooted in our own creative power - our personal Shakti - we are limited to a soulless carcass;
It is necessary to radically change the way we conquer and abuse power, and create an entirely new dynamic;
Positive and lasting results can only come from the exercise of true power;
Cultivate the "ability to act with compassion and wisdom, maintaining inner and outer peace, regardless of circumstances";
Balance imagination and logic, intuition, and analysis use your entire brain;
Cultivate patience and empathy.

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Overview: What is Shakti?

According to the Hindu tradition, Shakti represents the source of all things, is referred to as "The Divine Mother", as a being that they can have a conscious and enlightening relationship with.

The term Shakti designates the energy that, for the ancient yogis, or yogis (practitioners of yoga), provides the evolution of the world. According to them, this energy is inner, relative to creation, and therefore associated with goddesses, with feminine powers.

The consciousness of this feminine creative power was called by the ancients Shiva - who, due to her more rational nature, was related to masculine principles. Therefore, the evolution of any order, for it to occur properly, must be governed by the balance between these two powers.

Based on this assumption, Sisodia and Baht coined the expression "shakti leadership". The idea seems intuitively appropriate for the current times when we often live in crisis, and it is common knowledge that these crises are usually born out of imbalance.

Overview: Leading with Shakti

In the history of humanity, women have always been subjugated to men. The feminine qualities of creation are present in our personal lives, like the love we share with the people we love. However, in our professional lives, this affection is mostly non-existent.

Business culture depreciates most feminine qualities, and, according to the authors, for better integration and balance, organizations of all types need to enhance and cultivate feminine attributes in their culture, for both sexes.

Shakti Leadership is a practical leadership model that consciously compensates for male and female qualities to restore, balance, and invigorate all actions that will affect others.

The traditional leadership model was designed for competitions, focusing on survival and conquering an enemy. Hierarchy prevails and decisions are made by those in power.

Today, the context of the leader has changed, which previously existed to maintain order and was held by a few, today it is much more flexible and distributed.

Shakti Leadership is a leadership model developed by a group of facilitators and coaches from India, called Chitta Sangha (Conscious Collaborative).

It is a leadership approach that comes from consciousness, the ultimate source of everything. We need to be in tune with the present, without having to worry about the past or the future, focusing only on what is present at the moment, so that we can access this source.

From a state of presence, it is possible to access and develop leadership skills, such as completeness, flexibility, and congruence, and these are the essential skills to be an effective leader.

To fully develop these characteristics in your daily life, it is necessary to start with an inner search, Shakti Leadership arises from the totality.

Overview: The elephant in the room

Recently, an illustration that appeared in the American magazine New Yorker showing a depressed elephant on a living room sofa, saying "I am right here in the room, and nobody even notices my presence", was used by many to show something that is right in front of us, but we don't see it.

The elephant in the room can be a metaphor for Shakti, the invisible, unrecognized, and unused feminine power. In addition, elephants are animals that symbolize sweetness, intelligence, and a lot of strength - symbolic attributes appropriate to Shakti.

According to the authors, female leadership is seen as a threat to the traditionally patriarchal structures of society. Those who have held the reins of power for many years fear this potent feminine life power in women.

In order for this power not to manifest, we agree with collective amnesia. We implicitly accept that men are superior to women and so patriarchy was and continues to be present, and that is a big problem.

Overview: A full and free world

We are at the beginning of the awakening to the realization that the path traveled for millennia is no longer working, and that, in fact, it has not worked in the past either.

It does not work in our personal lives, as evidenced by the growing epidemics of depression and chronic diseases that we are experiencing.

An increasing number of men are beginning to feel comfortable integrating the feminine side into aspects of leadership life. Just as countless women are going through the education system and breaking hierarchies.

When you lead with Shakti, you feed on the power that feeds the Universe, the power of love, and mutuality.

Nilima and Raj invite everyone to connect with love, with the core of the creative power from which they emanated, the life-giving force of the principle of consciousness. We need to develop new mythology if we are to achieve a new consciousness with a new understanding of power.

Understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness are necessary for everyone. Now is the time for the male and female to come together, instead of trying to dominate the other.

The authors conclude the work by exposing that perhaps it is the spiritual destiny of India, to format and synthesize all the divergent spiritual forces of the world.

"The contribution of Indian civilization to the world has been the technology that it has developed for thousands of years: the science of interiority, how to go inside, how to really integrate. This is yoga. This technology has already come to the western world. If we can connect the dots, there is no more East-West".

Bhat and Sisodia believe that the ultimate goal of nature's evolution is to reach humanity and a planet functioning as a single organism in harmony and balance, letting Shakti take the lead and showing the way.

What do other authors say about it?

In "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead", author Sheryl Sandberg teaches that women are barred in the job market due to prejudice, lack of opportunity and often because of the creation of their own barriers.

In the book "Brave, Not Perfect" the author Reshma Saujani addresses the problem of how girls learn from an early age to be perfectionists and afraid of failing, instead of being brave, and the consequences of that later in life.

In "Leadership Gold", John C. Maxwell argues that we need to develop self-awareness to become true leaders. It will illuminate the habits and behaviors that lead us to overcome obstacles.

Okay, but how can I apply this to my life?

Now that you know a little more about Shakti Leadership, how about a recap with some practical tips?

"The only reality of this moment is that we are here and now", focusing on the present is the key to everything;
Instead of thinking about power "over" something or someone, think about power "with" something or someone;
Have all the traditional masculine virtues and all the ascending feminine virtues;
Become a person very dedicated to achieving your goal and fanatically committed to achieving it, but be flexible and able to change direction when you need to;
State what you think, be a leader, set a course, but be participative, listen well and cooperate;
Learn from life's experiences and be grateful, they are all teaching;
Take on qualities you want to learn and adopt it as your daily practice;
Seek to practice Shakti Leadership and be more conscious in your life;

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Shakti Leadership - Nilima Bhat, Raj Sisodia

Learn how to lead more consciously, with creativity and inclusion! Understand how to balance female and male power in business and in life!