Employee expectations have changed dramatically since the pandemic. Staff have started to focus more on their quality of life and a big part of this consideration involves their work life. This new focus has created a challenge for leaders to retain and engage their existing employees, attract great talent, and create teams that work well together. While there are many tactics and tools that you can implement to create cohesive teams, it all starts with creating and maintaining a culture of compassionate and transcendent leaders.

The commitment to transcendent leadership creates an environment of highly productive staff who need minimal supervision. It will also help tackle current and future challenges as our culture and technology tools change.

The Tenets of Transcendent Leadership

Transcendent leaders rise above the limits of the "ego self," moving into "higher self." They triumph over limitations and leap beyond what might be considered acceptable or possible. They are intentional about practicing these six components of transcendent leadership:

Acceptance. Choose to be open-minded and accepting of other viewpoints and ideas without necessarily agreeing with the value differences of others. Be willing to accept the ideas of others without labeling the person as right or wrong. Transcendent leaders still make a choice as to what values guide our organization and how we live our lives.

Reverence. Reverence is a state of awe for another self. When we reach deeply into our self, we are reaching into the very spirit of what it means to be alive and our part in shaping our workplace, community, and society. Allow that higher self to become fully present to our existence and sense of purpose. Remember our interconnection and our role in uplifting others for the good of the whole.

The commitment to transcendent leadership creates an environment of highly productive staff who need minimal supervision. It will also help tackle current and future challenges as our culture and technology tools change.

Gratitude. Effortlessly show appreciation for our greatest contributions and highlight the unique attributes of all stakeholders. Transcendent leaders use self-compassion and compassion for others to unlock the doorway to wisdom, interconnectedness, and collaboration. When we all feel valued, respected, and appreciated, we engage and work together authentically and effectively.

Presence. Choosing to be present means deciding to put aside distractions to be focused and engaged in the here and now. It takes discipline and practice, but being present opens us up to have a greater understanding of diverse experiences. Different viewpoints, expertise, and skills from all stakeholders can be shared, discussed, and applied for the greater good of all concerned.

Courage. Courage allows us to hold to the conviction of our higher self. It requires courage to take action when others may not show support or approval or to reflect on what we believe to be shortfalls and mistakes. With courage, we can create personal breakthroughs that allow us to move forward with self-compassion, conviction, and deeper trust that we can do better tomorrow.

Highest good. Determine a set of predetermined, nonnegotiable core values and commit to using them as our North Star. This will help guide our decisions and actions and remind us that, wherever and whenever possible, our efforts should create win-win-win situations for everyone involved.

Translating Principles to Practice

Transcendent leaders are intentional about designing cohesive teams that are also high-performing to help drive results. This starts with having a talent strategy that focuses on three major areas:

Understanding you. Are you more people-centric, or do you lean toward the analytical—or perhaps a little of both? Think about your career and how it might have been affected if your managers knew this about themselves. How would that have changed not just your experience, but how you mentored and sponsored other leaders yourself?

Understanding your team. How does your team go about its work? How do teammates communicate? How do they take action? What are their strengths? What are their blind spots? How do they interact together? As leaders, we need to understand our own drivers and motivations, strengths, and blind spots, and we need to understand our people.

Understanding the work to be done. What does your team need to do to drive results and help reach your strategic objectives? This is where you must have leadership consensus and clarity on the current priorities. When was the last time you mapped your priorities and revised your strategic objectives or set SMART goals with your team?

Transcendent leaders have a big job and know that the work goes beyond revenue and profit. It's a mission and must be a part of your calling. Becoming a transcendent leader can help build and leave a lasting legacy.