Leadership without Attachment

I feel like I have stumbled upon a great and secret key to unlocking the mystery of existence. Well, I actually found it on the web. The key is this simple concept: true love is love that is given without attachment. No need for reciprocation. No thoughts about the outcome. No desire for something in return. Even to love a dear friend or spouse or sibling because of their special relationship to you is short of true love. True love electrifies our spirits and the spirits of others because it is love without attachment. Love others because they are fellow humans, living beings with the right to transcend suffering and achieve enlightenment just like you. Love all things, and love them without attachment. Supposedly, that kind of would keep me from getting irritated with my kids when they interrupt me or getting pissed at my wife when she…well…pisses me off. That sounds like a good deal to me and an even better deal for them, so I strive… This is a new labor for me, a vision of great clarity that pervades my thinking these days. My mantra when I become troubled, when ego steps in, when distraction threatens to overtake me is simply “Be here without attachment.” Now I see that this is the essence of impactful leadership. I cannot anticipate the outcome. I cannot impose my desires. I cannot seek to control. I can plan but must plan with others. I can envision but must share in the visioning. I can set direction but must take directions in the process. In every situation, what I lead is not my own. It does not belong to me. If it did, then there would be no one to lead, no need for my leadership. There would just be me and my desires. This is not leadership. Leadership is love for the vision that is co-created and shared with others. Leadership is love for the work without attachment to the work. Work that is free from attachment can become whatever the empty space needs for it to be. Only free people doing work that is free can fill the void. This is leadership without attachment.