Great businesses start with great people. To truly make a positive impact, leaders must be dedicated to the service of others – but to really get to a place where creating is an act of service, we have to remove our assumptions and identities from the equation… 

Why do we want to be leaders? Why do we want to create? 

For many, attention drives ambition (at least in part). Personal brands, presentations, speaking, and even the creations put into the world are about garnering praise or generating approval from others… But this is backwards. We’re all already complete, and don’t NEED status or the attention of others to exist with joy and purpose.

Yet so many of us fall victim to the assumptions and outright myths rattling around between our ears. We tell ourselves that we need fixing, that we need to be different, that our own version of reality IS reality… And this reduces our ability to create in two ways.

First, if we feel this way internally, we project it outwardly – and instead of serving people as they already are, we aim to “fix” them with products or services or leadership. Instead of helping them thrive in their own unique state of completion, we aim to improve some aspect of THEM because we let our assumptions (and self-doubt) convince us of needs that don’t exist. 

Second, and even more important, the memories, assumptions, beliefs, and preconceptions we hold on to actively get in the way of honest observation and creative clarity. Memory and interior thoughts are good – they help us operate in the day-to-day – but when it comes to the act of creation, they muddy the waters and obscure the ability to observe the world without assumption or judgment. 

When we can let go of the need to “be a somebody,” of the internal monologue that tells us we need to be better, different, or anything other than what we are, we are free to both create something with honest vulnerability AND be of service to others without injecting our ego into the process. 

When you aren’t preoccupied with perception and attention, you can dive into the creative process without fear, fail bravely, adjust, and learn as you go. You don’t need to become tough to create… The act of creating will build toughness and resilience to setbacks. 

Even more, you can show up to interactions with your team, collaborators, and clientele as a complete human being – flaws and all – and recognize that they are equally complex human beings. This humanity is at the core of effective leadership.  

Presence, realness, wholeness… These are the gifts that drive human connection in all forms – with business, with your children, with your peers, with your customers and clients. The world needs people that understand how to move in their own nature, accept reality, and get rid of the assumptions that prevent us from true, honest observation…

The kind of realism and acceptance that allows leaders to create with open hearts, dedication to serving others, and meeting the world as it truly is… The kind of creation that is unencumbered by assumptions about ourselves and others alike.