PODCAST PEOPLE: A Summary from the Real Leaders Podcast

“The core binding energy is what people are calling purpose. And I don’t mean purpose statements I mean purpose stories. Energetic stories — myths, if you will. About why we exist, who we serve, and what we want to accomplish in serving them. How can we best connect with those we serve, understand their deepest needs, not just the surface needs, treat them as relationships, not as transactions?” 

Norman Wolfe is the founder of Quantum Leaders, Inc. and is viewed as an expert in the areas of leadership, strategy, change adoption, process improvement, organization design. He sees an organization through a different lens and uncovers new possibilities for growth.

The following is a summary of Episode 186 of the Real Leaders Podcast, a conversation with founder of Quantum Leaders, Norman Wolfe. Watch, read, or listen to the full conversation below.

Quantum Leadership

Quantum leaders, Norman explains, are leaders who can think about their organizations in a more robust and nuanced way. They see their organization as a collective of individuals coming to achieve a common purpose. Thus, their primary concern is with collective success, which they can nurture by operating from a place of service — serving clients, customers, and the collective itself. 

“A quantum leader is somebody who’s reached the stage where their focus is not about their success as a leader, but the collective success. And they’re willing to do whatever is necessary to facilitate that, and to get everybody lined up to having that same orientation.” 

Creating a Living Organization

Norman explains that an organization is just like a living being, which means change is like death — but with death also comes rebirth. He suggests that members of an organization should be allowed to mourn and move on from change in order to truly embrace it. This holistic view is what will keep an organization alive, and allow the community and culture within to thrive. 

He offers some key nutrients to create and nurture a living organization:

• A sense of contribution that we’re making as a collective
• Creating an environment where people feel they can grow and mature (that’s not only desirable, but expected).
• Shifting our focus from what you can make to who you are as a human being. (How are you growing as a healthy cell in the organic nature of this collective?)
• Profit — it gives us the resources that allow us to grow — the food that feeds the collective