Feminine Intelligence E-Book

Elina Teboul

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 383

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

“Feminine Intelligence is replete with rigorous research and sound advice. In these challenging times, to heal our homes, our communities, and our world, we desperately need the practical wisdom that Elina Teboul shares with us in Feminine Intelligence.” - Tal Ben Shahar, Creator of Harvard University Happiness Course, New York Times Bestselling Author of Happier

In her groundbreaking work, Elina Teboul reveals how feminine intelligence is the key to running some of the world's most successful companies — with greater joy, authenticity, purpose and profit.

Drawing on exclusive interviews with billionaire philanthropists, unicorn founders, and happiness pioneers, Feminine Intelligence uncovers the most powerful, often-overlooked traits that are driving the future of business. Through vivid storytelling and insightful research, Teboul shows that the future of leadership lies in embracing feminine strengths.

Key Insights Include:

• The transformative power of congruence and authenticity in building sustainable success.
• How nature connection, spiritual awakenings, and safe and intentional use of psychedelic medicines are emerging as tools to foster visionary leadership and personal growth.
• The journey from unconscious capitalism to conscious capitalism fueled by love and compassion.
• Traits often overlooked as soft or intangible are revealed to be the true superpowers of visionary leaders.

Whether you're leading a global enterprise or navigating the early stages of your career, Feminine Intelligence serves as a powerful guide for you to unlock a newfound wholeness. It will optimize your decision-making, expand your vision, fuel your creative genius, and empower you to reshape capitalism with love, compassion, and consciousness.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Praise for

Feminine Intelligence

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Raj Sisodia

Introduction

1 “Greed is Good”

The Money Trail

The Legacy of Adam Smith

Maximizing Profits

The Man Who Broke Capitalism

The Upside of Profits

The Next Generation of Leaders

Questions for Reflection

Notes

2 Feminine Intelligence

Unexpected Leadership

Head and Heart

The Power of the Feminine

Questions for Reflection

Notes

3 Broken Open

Congruence Is Power

Power Shift

Seeds of Change

Questions for Reflection

Notes

4 South Africa's First Unicorn

Against the Odds

Go1's Rise

Propagating Prosperity

Questions for Reflection

Notes

5 The Heart of Courage

The Courage to Connect

The Courage to be Authentic

The Courage to Lead

Questions for Reflection

Notes

6 Africa's Conscious Billionaire

Allan Gray

Anthony Farr

The Letter

Questions for Reflection

Notes

7 Building Cathedrals

The Architect

The History of Why

Lighting Purpose in Your People

It's a Hero(ine)'s Journey

Questions for Reflection

Notes

8 Rebels

With

a Cause

Gross National Happiness

Business Reimagined

Questions for Reflection

Notes

9 “B” The Change

Setting a New Course

Bringing Love Back to Corporate America

Movement Builders

And Then He's Gone

Questions for Reflection

Notes

10 Tools of the Masters

Honing Your Leadership

Time Mastery

Relationship Mastery

Mastery of Uncertainty

Emotional Mastery

Tools to Get Started

Questions for Reflection

Notes

11 Psychedelic Leadership

Beyond the Taboo

A Brief History

The Psychedelic Renaissance

Psychedelics to Transform Leadership

PowerTripp

Questions for Reflection

Notes

12 Seeds of Conscious Leadership

The Earth Spoke, and I Listened

Nature Mother

The Creative Spark

Connection with Others

Connection to Self

A Higher Connection

Questions for Reflection

Notes

13 Awake Not “Woke” Capitalism

Leading with Wholeness

The Inner Power of the Feminine

Voices in Crescendo

A New Era of Leadership

Questions for Reflection

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Praise for Feminine Intelligence

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

Begin Reading

Acknowledgments

Index

End User License Agreement

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Praise for Feminine Intelligence

“Feminine Intelligence is replete with rigorous research and sound advice. In these challenging times, to heal our homes, our communities, and our world, we desperately need the practical wisdom that Elina Teboul shares with us in Feminine Intelligence.”

—Tal Ben‐ShaharCreator of Harvard University Happiness Course, New York Times Bestselling Author of Happier

“I love this book! Feminine Intelligence is the kind of work that shifts perspectives on leadership forever. It's an inspiring and essential read for anyone seeking to create a more balanced and compassionate world.”

—Poonacha MachaiahCEO of The Chopra Foundation

“In Feminine Intelligence, Elina Teboul transcends traditional leadership paradigms, offering a holistic approach that aligns perfectly with the values of social and environmental responsibility championed by B Corps. This book not only provides invaluable insights into conscious leadership but also inspires readers to navigate the complexities of the twenty‐first‐century business landscape with integrity and purpose. It is truly a transformative guide for leaders committed to making a positive impact in the world.”

—Ben Anderson Former CEO and Co‐Chairman of the Board of B Lab US and Canada

“An inspiring call to awaken your heart to take the lead. Feminine intelligence isn't about thinking outside the box, it is about reimagining a world that doesn't put you in a box in the first place.”

—Dan Tomasulo, PhDAuthor of  Learned Hopefulness and Academic Director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University

“Teboul boldly reminds us of what we have lost by overemphasizing the rational, linear and masculine side of capitalism, and invites us into the ultimate both/and that values the intuitive, holistic and feminine side in service of a better world. This book is a manifesto for the future of leadership.”

—Wendy K. Smith, Dana J. JohnsonProfessor of Management, Author of Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems

“With a blend of pragmatic business acumen and bold idealism, Elina Teboul challenges readers to envision a new paradigm of capitalism. Prepare to rekindle your faith in a future whereby doing good and succeeding in business are not mutually exclusive.”

—Jill LublinAuthor of   The Profit of Kindness

“By challenging conventional notions of leadership dominated by masculine perspectives, Elina Teboul's book serves as a transformative resource for leaders striving to elevate their effectiveness. Feminine Intelligence is a must‐read for anyone in a position of power seeking to cultivate inclusive and empathetic leadership skills.”

—Elinor StutzAuthor of  Hired!

“Elina Teboul takes readers on a meaningful, spiritual, and imaginative journey into the world of business leadership. This book stands as the quintessential leadership philosophy for the dynamic landscape of the modern era.”

—Lorna DavisFormer Chief Manifesto Officer of Danone

“Feminine Intelligence is an eloquent guide on how businesses, governments, and the public can fulfill their moral and sacred obligation to protect nature. Packed full of wisdom, storytelling, and passion, this book tells the story of innovative leaders with win‐win solutions that help address the environmental crisis.”

—Grant WilsonExecutive Director, Earth Law Center

“Teboul's fascinating work on feminine intelligence offers valuable wisdom to all leaders who want to make a difference, by leading with the head and the heart.”

—Mauro SchnaidmanFormer President of Sara Lee in Europe, founder of Coaching Ventures and author of the book Who Said You Can’t Change the World? Building a Career with Purpose

“One of the things I look for in a book is its ability to challenge my values and beliefs—to stretch my brain to look at things through a different lens. I found that in Teboul's ‘Feminine Intelligence’. As I journeyed through the chapters, I relished the chapters that resonated with my deepest beliefs; I was inspired by thought‐provoking streams of wisdom; and finally, I was challenged to set aside my biases (at least temporarily) to consider new ways of looking at leadership and life.  Yes … my brain was stretched and I enjoyed every minute of it.”

—D. Lynn KelleyAuthor of  Change Questions

“Elina Teboul reveals how our beliefs about modern business leadership can be woefully misguided. She invites all of us to adopt a timeless, yet under‐appreciated approach to leadership based on authenticity, joy, and whole system perspectives rather than control, fear, and tribalism. Feminine Intelligence offers a roadmap for leaders to cultivate these qualities within themselves and create workplaces that foster genuine connection, creativity, fulfilment … and, importantly, sustainable results.”

—Gaurav Bhatnagar and Mark Minukas Authors of   Unfear: Transform Your Organization to Create Breakthrough Performance and Employee Well‐Being

“Through vivid storytelling, Teboul illustrates the untapped potential within each of us to revolutionize our leadership approach by embracing our human capacity, both masculine and feminine. Her persuasive argument that the cultivation of feminine intelligence is vital to the survival and thriving of our planet resonates deeply in a time of global uncertainty.”

—Dr. Sandro Formica Professor of Positive Organizations at Florida State University

“With Feminine Intelligence, Elina Teboul challenges the business world to enter a new era of conscious capitalism. Her approach to blending economic success with global well‐being and environmental sustainability is innovative and essential. This book is a powerful guide for current and future leaders to create lasting, positive impact.”

—Elisa Juarez Bestselling Author of  Sparkle On Changemaker: A Practical Guide to Equitable Social Impact

“Elina Teboul offers a refreshing perspective on leadership that feels like a breath of fresh air. Feminine Intelligence is a must read. The ideas here will transform the way you think about leadership and your role in creating a happier world.”

—Karen Guggenheim Co‐Founder of the World Happiness Summit and Author of Captivating Happiness: Overcome Trauma and Positively Transform Your Life

Feminine Intelligence

How Visionary Leaders can Reshape Business for Good

Elina Teboul

Foreword By RAJ SISODIA

Co‐Founder, Conscious Capitalism Movement, FEMSA Distinguished University Professor of Conscious Enterprise, Tecnológico de Monterrey

This edition first published 2025

© 2025 Elina Teboul

All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial intelligence technologies or similar technologies. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Elina Teboul to be identified as the author of this work and has been asserted in accordance with law.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Teboul, Elina, author.

Title: Hidden intelligence : how visionary leaders weave feminine and masculine intelligence to reshape business for good / Elina Teboul.

Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2025. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024050250 (print) | LCCN 2024050251 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394330119 (hardback) | ISBN 9781394330133 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394330126 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Organizational behavior.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .T434 2025 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092—dc23/eng/20241228

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024050250

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024050251

COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY

To my children, Philip and Annabelle

And to all our children, and children yet to come—the future leaders, change makers, and visionaries. The future belongs to you.

To my husband, Jeremie.

Love is everything.

Foreword

Raj Sisodia

When Elina Teboul approached me about writing the Foreword for her groundbreaking book Feminine Intelligence, I was immediately intrigued. As a longtime advocate for conscious business practices and the integration of traditionally “feminine” values into leadership, I knew this book would be an important contribution to the ongoing evolution of capitalism and organizational culture.

Business has long been driven by the ideals of competition, conquest, and control—values traditionally associated with the masculine. While these principles have helped shape the modern economy, they have also led to great imbalances, particularly in terms of human and environmental cost. In my work with Conscious Capitalism, I have been consistently reminded of the urgent need to elevate the feminine—the qualities of empathy, nurturing, collaboration, and love—into the heart of business leadership. It is not merely a moral imperative but a strategic necessity for the survival of our planet, our organizations, and our species.

This book is not simply a call for a shift in leadership style but a revolution in consciousness. It is about reclaiming the full spectrum of our humanity, integrating the power of the masculine with the wisdom of the feminine. It is about awakening a new paradigm for leadership that can heal the wounds inflicted by decades of exploitative practices and short‐term thinking.

Feminine Intelligence builds on and extends many of the core ideas I've explored in my writing and speaking over the years. In Shakti Leadership, Nilima Bhat and I examined how leaders can tap into divine feminine energy (Shakti, in the Indic tradition) to become more conscious, compassionate, and creative in their roles. Elina takes this concept even further, offering a comprehensive framework for how feminine intelligence can be cultivated and applied to reshape organizational cultures and business practices from the ground up.

In The Healing Organization, Michael Gelb and I discussed how companies can transform themselves into forces of healing. Healing requires us to address the root causes of suffering, and this is where the feminine comes into play. Healing, after all, is an act of love. It requires tenderness, deep listening, and a commitment to the well‐being of others—all hallmarks of feminine intelligence.

Love, the ultimate expression of the feminine, has often been considered out of place in the boardroom. Yet, as I wrote in Everybody Matters, co‐authored with Bob Chapman, love is the most potent force available to business leaders. In that book, we examined Barry‐Wehmiller's radical approach to leadership, which treats employees as whole people to be cared for, nurtured, and respected, rather than mere resources. By leading with love, Barry‐Wehmiller has created a culture of deep connection, commitment, and purpose, achieving remarkable business results in the process. Love and care are not distractions from business—they are the very foundations of a sustainable and thriving enterprise.

Feminine Intelligence builds upon these lessons and extends them into the future of business leadership. The stories in this book highlight individuals and organizations that are awakening to the power of the feminine, challenging outdated notions of what leadership should look like. These stories show that success in today's world—where the challenges we face are global, interconnected, and unprecedented—requires a new kind of leadership, one that embraces vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and the strength that comes from empathy.

I admire Elina's nuanced exploration of how both men and women can cultivate and express feminine intelligence, moving beyond simplistic gender stereotypes to examine these qualities as innate human capacities we all possess. Her practical strategies for developing feminine intelligence offer a roadmap for leaders of all backgrounds to access more of their full potential.

Elina Teboul reminds us that leadership is not about dominance but about service. The feminine teaches us to lead from the heart, to care deeply for our people, and to value relationships over transactions. It shows us that true power lies in the ability to uplift others, to create spaces where people can thrive, and to nurture the ecosystems—both human and environmental—within which we operate.

As we face a world in crisis, where climate change, social inequality, and mental health issues are becoming ever more pressing, the time has come for a new kind of leadership. The integration of the feminine into business is not a luxury—it is a necessity. The wisdom of the feminine can guide us to new models of growth that prioritize sustainability, equity, and well‐being over mere profit. It can help us create businesses that are not just successful, but healing.

This book is an essential guide for leaders who want to step into this new paradigm. It offers not only inspiring stories but practical tools for cultivating feminine intelligence in leadership. These tools are not about abandoning the masculine, but about balancing it with the feminine, creating a holistic approach to leadership that can truly transform business and society.

I believe this book will spark important conversations and inspire meaningful change in boardrooms, business schools, and beyond. Elina's voice is a welcome and necessary addition to the growing chorus calling for a more conscious, humane, and regenerative approach to business.

Feminine Intelligence is not just for women. The qualities of the feminine—love, empathy, intuition—reside in all of us, regardless of gender. The future of business depends on our ability to awaken these qualities in ourselves and our organizations. As we learn to lead with love, we will find that the path to prosperity, sustainability, and human flourishing is one and the same.

We stand at a pivotal moment in human history. The path we choose now will determine the future we create, not just for our organizations but for life on this planet. Feminine Intelligence illuminates a way forward—one of greater wholeness, wisdom, and positive impact. I'm deeply grateful to Elina for this important contribution and excited to see how it shapes the ongoing evolution of business and leadership in the years to come.

—Raj Sisodia

Co‐founder, Conscious Capitalism Movement

FEMSA Distinguished University Professor of Conscious Enterprise, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Introduction

I continue to be inspired by the power of capitalism, and I believe that within its DNA is the potential, means, and capacity to lay the foundations for an inspired, harmonious, and symbiotic world in which so many of us can thrive. But if the vision for capitalism has ever been to engender such a world, we have gotten severely, ominously, off‐track.

Yet, demonizing capitalism is merely indulgent as well as futile. Over the past century, the economic system has spawned extraordinary benefits for billions of people around the globe. In a world where vilifying profit‐seeking and growth has become a fashionable pastime, it's crucial to recognize that profits aren't just the lifeblood of business; they're the pulsating force driving innovation, sustaining livelihoods, and ultimately empowering businesses to serve society.

But the pursuit of profits should not be a myopic endeavor. We must ask ourselves: At what cost do we seek profits and expansion? Must we make a binary choice between economic growth and abundance on the one hand and the well‐being of the natural world, our mental and spiritual health, and our joy on the other? Is it necessary to sacrifice one for the sake of the other?

No—absolutely not. It's just that, for too long, we've been suffering from a shortage of vision and an inadequate understanding of ourselves, which have prevented us from seeing how we can have both. And we can.

I believe the vital call of our time is to elevate the consciousness of our global business leaders. Why? Because who better to rein in the damaging practices, re‐evaluate the values, and set us on a higher course toward a regenerative future than our business leaders? As economics is arguably the most formidable driving force in today's world, businesses in particular are the power players in our global economic systems. With the resources, creativity, and capacity for innovation, businesses can champion a vital, thriving future for our world. And it's not merely individual businesses that wield this transformative potential; it is the potential of their being an integral part of an interconnected whole. When businesses collaborate and work together, acknowledging their shared responsibility, they have the capacity to address the degradation of conditions that the previous 50 years of profit‐driven rational self‐interest have created. Like it or hate it, it is the collective business community that is best positioned to resolve the mess we find ourselves in.

So, I welcome you in. Consider this an invitation, perhaps even a provocation. Whether you're at the helm as a CEO or navigating the early stages of managing your first employee, your title is inconsequential. What matters is your commitment to this journey—your quest to broaden and refine not just your leadership role but, fundamentally, yourself. Your presence here signifies an eagerness to evolve.

Thus, together, we stand at the proverbial crossroads. We must decide if today's capitalist paradigm will deliver us to a brighter future or destroy what matters most to us. The responsibility falls on leaders like you. Upgrade your leadership skills, transcend conventional ways of operating, and seek alignment—with your mind, heart, and soul. Embrace integrity as your guiding principle, especially when faced with challenges or temptations to deviate. (Trust me; there will be plenty.) These steps are crucial for solving the challenges we face today—and for ensuring we still have a tomorrow to enjoy at all.

Doing so, however, will require a tectonic shift in our perceptions and values. The insights trickling down from the ivory towers of higher education are insufficient to the monumental task at hand, and the influence absorbed through our cultural and societal biases falls short of fueling a pivot of direction. They simply don't impart the wisdom, methods, and perspectives needed to reverse the addicting and pervasive drive to rack up profits, outperform competitors, and relentlessly grab at power—an outdated definition of “success” that too often still defines our aspirations.

The good news is that there's a growing number of conscious leadership advocates today who are willing to venture into new territory. Many are opting to shift their organizations' visions and move beyond the conventional set of CEO responsibilities that include shareholder returns, profits, and the bottom line. Instead, they are embracing a broader perspective that incorporates more humanistic values.

As formidable as such a task sounds, it is within reach. For years, I have worked with entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and other high performers to ignite their influence and tackle big, hairy problems. By unlocking their feminine intelligence, shedding limiting assumptions, stress‐testing ingrained narratives, and answering uncomfortable questions, they rewrote their personal leadership story. They engaged a newfound wholeness that optimized their decision‐making, expanded their vision, fueled their creative genius, and allowed them to finally hear and respond to the callings of their hearts. As a result, they have become amplified, elevated, expanded, and more fulfilled than they had ever imagined was possible. They are also fueled with the resolve, strength, and courage they need to lead their organizations as a force for good in the world.

While more leaders seem willing to step up to the plate, it is not enough; it will take many more of us to get to a true inflection point. It will take many leaders—of organizations large and small, current and aspiring—to elevate the status quo of business practices worldwide. To get there, we need to reimagine what leadership is and can be, redefine why businesses exist in the first place, and step into a profound change in how we operate, think, feel, and breathe as leaders ourselves.

To get there, we need you. The call to conscious leadership is not a whisper; it's a clarion call. It seeks global leaders who are ready to step into their power and make a difference.

I repeat: Nothing is more important right now than elevating the consciousness in ourselves as leaders. Leadership, after all, is autobiographical. As we attune to our individual needs and cultivate wholeness within, a remarkable shift occurs. When our egos quiet down, we liberate ourselves from a focus on trivial grievances and limited perspectives. In this ascended state, we rise—aligned, courageous, and expanded—capable of working toward wholeness, not just within ourselves but on an organizational and world scale. This places us in a position of profound responsibility, allowing us to attend to the greater needs of the global economy, humanity at large, and the very planet we call home.

~ • ~

As a student of economics and politics at New York University, I did not question the premise that the sole purpose of an organization is to make money for its shareholders. At Columbia Law School, I dedicated myself to contributing meaningfully to discussions focused on ensuring the primacy of shareholder interests. I considered myself both prudent and logical, ready to embark on my career in corporate law and to serve “Corporate America” and the values that come with it.

But when I finally arrived at my dream job at a prestigious New York law firm, I was gravely disappointed by its soulless and disassociated culture, and I found I lacked purpose there. The “noble” profession I had envisioned turned out to be anything but. It wasn't until I found the courage to quit focusing on advancing social entrepreneurship that I learned that business can be at the heart of creating social and political change. I finally started to internalize how the societal and cultural values that we build our economy on are broken.

A few years later, I returned to Columbia University to study leadership and psychology. I wanted to understand what makes people tick. I realized that we can't simply transform the system without understanding the person, and we cannot help a person transform without understanding the system within which they live and work. The two are interdependent and intertwined.

After completing my studies, I began to coach startup founders and seasoned executives on how to excel and unlock business impact. I was motivated by helping people dig into their authentic power and shed confining assumptions and perspectives. I wanted my clients to unlock the highest version of themselves, and I soon discovered that their transformation was felt far beyond their personal and professional lives. Once they tapped into the peace and wholeness within themselves, their work resonated far beyond their personal space, bringing appreciable positive change to their organizations, their communities, and beyond.

At the same time, my friend and colleague Jordana Confino and I co‐created a course for Fordham Law School in New York that we called “Positive Lawyering.” The course applied positive psychology (the study of happiness) principles to the legal industry, guiding students to find their purpose, ignite their passion, and arm them with techniques around mindfulness and resilience so they can succeed, soul intact, in the corporate world. The students learned to recognize and draw from their own feminine intelligence—although we didn't call it that then.

It still astonishes me how much people are afraid of the “feminine,” too—whether they're negotiating the word itself or talking about that part of our essential nature. When I was conducting research for this book, in fact, I received an enormous amount of resistance from scores of women. One prominent female UK politician I reached out to declined an interview with me, saying, “I don't agree with the concept of feminine intelligence,” and many others echoed her sentiment. My conversations with many other female senior executives began with their denial of this part of themselves—they felt that focusing too much on such a “controversial” subject would threaten the equality and respect they had worked so hard for so long to achieve. The irony is that while we are groomed to be feminists, we are simultaneously conditioned to be afraid of our femininity.

Surprisingly, many of the men I spoke with jumped at the chance to have a conversation about it, not because they wanted to put women back in their “place,” but because they wanted to tap into that side of themselves. Most conversations with men, be it young tech founders or grey‐haired gents, turned into stories about how they led with purpose, values, and heart and wanted to be included. They weren't mansplaining, either; they longed to reconnect to their humanity. After all, masculinity has suffered under the patriarchy, too—just in a different way.

But women would often get quite upset when I asked to discuss feminine intelligence with them. I realized that their reactions were rooted in the way so many of us conceptualize what “feminine” means in ourselves and our culture. In the back of their minds—in the subconscious warehouse of their ideas—they pictured the classic pink‐attired, blonde, ponytailed Barbie, who, for decades, had been as worldly and self‐aware as a field mouse. Yet, Barbie the doll is a caricature of how the feminine actually shows up in us; it is an image fashioned by men in a male‐dominant world, with no qualms about subverting and minimizing women. No wonder women were turned off.

But feminine intelligence is something of a very different order. It's not about eyelashes or fingernails. It's an essential quality of our deepest human nature that we have disassociated from, become uncomfortable with, put down, submerged, and misunderstood. It has been judged, dismissed, and gagged; nevertheless, it has persisted. And yet, today, it is a burgeoning and boundlessly powerful sensibility within all of us, irrespective of our gender, that has the capacity to restore our joy and save ourselves and our planet at the same time.

It also amazes me that people are surprised at the power of the feminine within themselves. What is feminine intelligence, anyway? It expresses itself as many things, including empathy, courage, and a sense of interconnection that energizes, supports, and yet inspires. It is the anchor for heart‐centered decision‐making. It's how to be comfortable in chaos, find hidden opportunities in conflict, and bring out the creativity and effectiveness in others. It embraces our personal humanity as well as the humanity of others, and it inspires us to push the boundaries of our imagination to envision more expansive possibilities than we've known before.

One of the most urgent issues of the day is the climate crisis; it is urgent because if we don't solve it, nothing else will matter because none of us will be here. Yet the very fact that we are on the brink of environmental disaster speaks to our relationship with the feminine. Nature has been associated with feminine qualities and has been represented by feminine symbolism in spiritual, religious, and cultural traditions throughout time. This association draws upon the nurturing, life‐giving aspects attributed to both nature and the feminine. The feminine is the seed of our life force, like Mother Nature herself. Yet the capitalism we know today has disconnected us from nature, cutting us off from just about everything that makes us human. When we consciously reconnect with our feminine intelligence, we revive our profound interconnectedness to the natural world and awaken an innate desire to adopt an ecological worldview. Then, as we make decisions for our organizations that impact the natural world, we feel aligned with the regenerative pulse of the Earth.

This doesn't mean that masculine intelligence is any less important than feminine intelligence. It's just that we can't cut off any part of ourselves if we are to feel fulfilled, to make a difference, to succeed, and to achieve great things. Yet, the patriarchal fabric of our society has, by virtue of subverting the feminine, robbed people of all genders of the opportunity to exist in an expanded state of wholeness and consciousness. As a result, all of us have, to some degree, dissociated and distanced ourselves from a powerful energy that we have historically and wrongfully minimized and misidentified with the female form, with women. That practice has short‐changed all of us.

As I wrote this book, I could have decided to steer clear of the word “feminine” to avoid controversy, misunderstanding, and charged reactions. I could have called this essential quality “yin” or “anima” or another fairly remote or exotic term that people are less familiar with—ones that evoke less emotional baggage and fewer preconceptions. But I soon realized that only the term “feminine” would yield enough emotional response to get the point across. Language is important, and honoring the word and being honest about the feminine within ourselves has been one of the most compelling motivations for writing this book in the first place. I didn't want to shy away from it; I wanted to bring it into the full light of day. It is time to be bold and to discover and own this extraordinary part of ourselves fully.

~ • ~

Until now, most of the world's leaders have been operating from a limited level of consciousness, a limited sense of their own being, and, as a result, a limited sense of their capacity to lead in such a way as to bring positive and powerful change in the world. They remain unaware of their potential for wholeness, but it is only from wholeness that true transformation can be generated. Within wholeness lies our true humanity; if we are going to have a future at all, we must begin to draw from its rich well of wisdom and wider vision to inform how we run our businesses. It is a part of us that we can no longer afford to ignore.

At the heart of our wholeness is a balanced integration of the feminine and masculine. Our feminine intelligence is ripe with ideas, energy, profound insights, and a felt, visceral connection to all of life. To balance the feminine, a healthy masculine energy contributes rigor, analytical prowess, logical thinking, assertiveness, clear direction, and autonomy. These are absolutely essential attributes for any leader. Toxic femininity, without the counterbalancing masculine, is the stereotype we run into—manipulative, overly dependent, emotionally fragile, and prone to sabotage. Conversely, toxic masculinity without the counterbalancing feminine is the status quo—suppressed, extractive, aggressive, dominant, rigid, and excessively controlling. The harmonious interplay between the two results in a synergy that inevitably brings us more internal harmony and the peace, love, and wisdom that result from it.

This book is dedicated to awakening the heart of business. It is for those who dare to dream, who long for a more beautiful and prosperous world. For those of us who want to see the healing of our economic ecosystems for the betterment of humanity and the planet, it's essential that we begin now, infusing it with beauty, power, and feminine intelligence as much as possible.

With this book, I hope to inspire you through stories spanning continents—from South Africa to Paris, London, New York, and even the Bermuda Triangle. Whether they spotlight philanthropists, unicorn founders, happiness gurus, pioneering scientists, multinational giants, or small startups, these stories share a common thread: the unwavering commitment to championing business as a force for good, irrespective of scale or geography.

With this book, I hope to equip you to become a pioneer in a new, conscious leadership philosophy. Within these pages, you'll find a framework and tools that those who have mastered leadership rely on. Accompanied by reflective questions, you'll be invited into radical self‐inquiry. These resources aren't meant to be hurried. Allow them to settle. Their purpose is clear: to gently lead you to restore trust in business and to renew your sense of enchantment and wonder for life and its vast realm of possibilities.

Above all, my deepest wish is for you to become intimately acquainted with the extraordinary strengths, brilliance, and beauty deep inside you. Let these narratives guide you to lead an exceptional and fulfilling life—one that is filled with joy and purpose—and ignite a ripple effect of positive change in your world and beyond.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

1“Greed is Good”

The Money Trail

We have inherited a cultural belief system that most of us don't ever think about. Like the air we breathe every day, we take it for granted and depend on it, and while it remains largely invisible, it also makes it possible for us to operate in the world. The problem is, as long as we remain unaware of it, it runs us—our choices, our values, our behaviors. So, it is time to acknowledge its presence. Then, once we take a closer look at it, we can find out if it is truly aligned with our aliveness and if it supports the larger vision we have for ourselves, our communities, and our world.

The belief system I'm referring to here is the economic system behind our Western capitalist societies. But let me be clear. I am not here to bash it. On the wings of Western capitalism, humanity has come a very long way over the past few hundred years. We have progressed first into the Industrial Age and now into the Digital Age, where driverless cars, robotic manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and other realities that were once the whimsy of mere fantasy and are now integral to our day‐to‐day human experience. We've constructed a civilization with complex social structures, unprecedented technology, and resources that are infinitely more abundant than humanity has ever dared to imagine in the past. We enjoy longer, healthier life spans, greater levels of literacy and education, and more freedom, leisure, and luxury than at any other time in history. In the West, at least, we are very much a prosperous world.

Yet our mesmerizing, sophisticated world is on fire. A tangle of damaging consequences has emerged from the unchecked exploitation, dominance, arrogance, transactional relationships, and short‐term thinking that comprise our current system. Underneath our material achievements, we are drowning in an epidemic of stress and existential despair; we witness discrimination, inequality, and social injustice everywhere we look. This ecosystem of which we are a part is plagued by senseless, violent wars, food insecurity, desperate poverty, and an alarming deterioration of the biosphere. We are killing our own habitat—the very wellspring of resources upon which we depend to survive.

We are turning into boiling frogs. So, why aren't our business and political leaders marching us toward radical solutions or showing real determination to answer our most threatening issues? Because we have grown to harbor very narrow, impoverished views of what leadership is and what it can be. Leadership is not merely the harnessing of intellectual logic to drive economic growth. And it doesn't come into being by means of titles, status, financial wealth, or X (formerly known as Twitter) following. It doesn't materialize through the acquisition of a corner office, or—for the digital CEO—one with ocean views, or by the thrill of standing center stage with thousands of eager eyes looking up to hear our wisdom. Leadership is not synonymous with the power to command people. It can be so much more than any of these outdated trappings.

And how have we arrived at this juncture? How have we, as a collective, allowed ourselves to forget the highest promise of leadership? Full of hope, idealism, and zeal when we started, how have we just become another cog in the wheel, perpetuating the problems of old? If any of us want to see real progress—that is, a sea change in the priorities and values of our leadership—these are critical questions to think about.

Leadership has the potential to be a personally transformational experience as well as one that oversees organizations that operate as a force for good in the world. It can be a conscious endeavor that charts a new course to a healthier, more fertile, more equitable, and more mutually beneficial future for all of us. It can be based on a deeply authentic sense of purpose, be an expression of our whole, alive selves, and be informed by a profound sense of connection to each other in order to solve society's biggest problems. But to get there, we need to make a bold break from the mistakes of the past. We need to establish a new paradigm based on broader values and empowered by the wisdom of our full selves. To do that, we first need to take the time to delve into the foundations of our existing systems and paradigms and examine the lessons we can now learn from them. The future of leadership must begin now. And it begins with us.

The Legacy of Adam Smith

Let's examine our assumptions and presumptions about leadership. What have we been taught, and what have we adopted unconsciously from our culture? What implicit expectations do we harbor about running businesses or about being successful? Many believe that the original seeds of thought pertaining to “modern” leadership can be traced back to 1776, when Adam Smith, the economist and moral philosopher, published his groundbreaking treatise, The Wealth of Nations. Now standard reading throughout the halls of higher education, the book is largely an argument in favor of free market economics. Smith argued that division of labor was the most efficient way to produce goods and services for society, and his ideas laid the groundwork for classical liberal economic thought. Thanks to his writings, the concepts that would later be associated with capitalism gained a foothold in the public's mind, and the discourse on the topic has continued to grow ever since.

For economies to grow, Smith hypothesized, we should make our personal interests our priority. He argued that if we allow what he described as “rational self‐interest”—our self‐serving human nature—to guide our economic choices, then prosperity will readily follow. Further, he proposed that if both producers and consumers focused on taking care of themselves, then governments wouldn't be needed to centrally plan the allocation of societal resources. There's an “invisible hand,” he claimed, that guides free markets and ensures fair and satisfactory outcomes for all involved. If individuals, and by extension, businesses, look after their own interests, he argued, supply and demand will be matched, and the invisible hand will keep everything in equilibrium.

These notions form the basis of  Western economic thought, frequently earning Smith the honorary title of  “father of modern capitalism.”  Yet, the world was very different in 1776 than it is today, and, like most authors, his writings reflected the times in which he lived. There were no big corporations then; the economy consisted of innumerable small merchants and traders operating under the whims of monarchs. It also seems safe to assume that he did not expect his theories to become a cornerstone of economic decision‐making in the modern context of large multinational organizations. But they did.

What's more, knowledge about the mechanics and interplay of human behavior and motivation was limited in the eighteenth century compared to what we know now. And what was accepted as science was often quite inaccurate. Yet Smith, in all of his wisdom, positioned rational self‐interest and the “invisible hand” as the engine and orchestration of economic prosperity. Quite simplistically, he believed that people will just know what's best for them—through rational thinking—and that they will act accordingly. He presumed that the motivations of man were selfish and rooted in a desire for material wealth. A somewhat more obscure fact about Smith is that he had published, 17 years prior, The Theory of Moral Sentiments