People are suffering everywhere in businesses and organizations because they are operating from wounded egos, in environments of fear, rather than respect and cooperation. Leaders, under the pressure to perform and employees, under the fear of job loss are feeling fatigue and emotional depletion.
However, acceptance of what is an unhappy atmosphere perpetuates the situation because without acknowledgement, no correction or improvement can be made. Only when it is recognized we do not have to live this way, can we agree to resolve it.  Dan Dana, Ph.D., international speaker, author and founder of Mediation Works states, “Unmanaged conflict is the largest reducible cost in organizations today, and the least recognized.â€
Currently, lurking below the surface of most workplaces is an undercurrent pulling people down and into it. Although the surface appears calm and the undercurrent is not visible to outsiders, those working in this environment are becoming exhausted from using so much energy trying to navigate through it. Some are swimming on top, furiously trying to stay ahead of the current, many are treading water, others are backpedaling and some are drowning.
Leaders, because of the heirarchy of power, are in the best place to begin unraveling the complex entanglement of egos. It starts with the leaders choosing to look deeply at their own internal challenges and then working toward personal transformation. True leaders can release those they lead by allowing them the freedom and opportunity to become restored to their true identities in an atmosphere of trust. Businesses will have more success by creating an atmosphere where teamwork and synergiam can occur, replacing the current internal competition.
