You are not born with confidence etched into your bones, nor do you arrive in this world as a fully-formed leader, striding with certainty into your vocational life. Confidence is not an inheritance, nor is leadership a crown granted at birth. Rather, they are quiet fires kindled over time—fueled by observation, tested through challenge, and shaped by the courage to show up as you truly are.
It is through the lens of deep observation that you first learn—watching others stumble, rise, retreat, and lead. You see the power of presence, the weight of words, the grace of listening. You begin to understand that leadership is not a posture of dominance, but a display of authenticity. It is a rhythm that pulses from within, aligned with integrity and soul.
And so, the journey begins—not with bravado, but with intention. Each time You choose to step into your authentic role, even if your voice trembles, you say to the world, “This is me, arriving as I am.” In that moment, something soft but unshakable awakens.
You expand. You remember. You grow.
Every honest step forward—whether it’s leading a circle, making a boundary, creating something new, or speaking your truth—is another strand woven into the tapestry of your true identity. You become more of yourself each time you show up in your truth, rooted in what is real, not rehearsed.
Leadership, then, is less about being in front and more about being aligned. And confidence, in its truest form, is the peace of knowing that who you are is enough—and always becoming more, naturally.
So let’s not wait for perfection before you begin. Let’s lead not only because you are ready, but because you are willing and available for your life. Remember, your authenticity is your greatest authority—and from that place, you rise, and rise again.
2022 is coming to a close and invites reflection and completion.
This year has presented me with several powerful and clarifying experiences. Each of these experiences held lessons and blessings around these three themes and concepts –
Alignment
The act of aligning or state of being aligned. The proper positioning or adjustment in alignment with my true purpose.
Adjustment
The act or process of stating, correcting and modifying.
Affirmation
Asserting and affirming my new state of being to be a true and positive action.
This three-fold theme was present and persistent in 2022. – Even though it felt very challenging, I knew this triple-A process was forging a new version of myself.
This year has shown me my ability to recognise and act when things feel out of alignment and how making the appropriate adjustments allowed for the energy to flow to myself and anything I was working on.
With every decision, I decided to draw a line in the sand and express my authenticity, this created an appropriate environment affirming my actions and true nature.
So, I must give thanks for all 2022 has asked of me. Each decision and act has made me show up and honour my mission and purpose in this lifetime.
At the end of 2012 after 12 months of facilitating a group of amazing women, I witnessed a new style of leadership and now 10 years on, at the end of 2022 I realise I am living my new version of this New Style of Leadership; Light Leadership. I believe Light Leadership demonstrates social and spiritual synergy.
The Light Leader focuses on staying in a unity-based context, which defines and gives structure to the role of the Light Leader as a co-creator and community builder. I use the term co-creator not only as co-creating with others but also co-creating with the Divine Living Presence.
I know the first step in becoming a Light Leader is saying YES to the call…
I know that social and spiritual awareness is one of the same and plays a large part in being an effective leader. And even though I said yes to the call many years ago, I can feel a new level of conviction rising within me, as a social and spiritual human being.
Here are definitions, which I believe are how many people view the idea of being social and spiritual today.
Definition – Social
About being devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations.Living or inclined to live in companionship with others or a community, rather than in isolation.The welfare, and relations of human beings in a community.
Definition – Spiritual
Relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. About having a spirit or soul, different from the physical nature.Having a relationship based on a profound level of mental or emotional unity, a refined and higher quality of emotions and actions.
Social and Spiritual Synergy is at the heart of every Light Leader, creating long-term effective change.
Social and Spiritual
I believe the connection between Social and Spiritual awareness is an integral part of our human experience, we are much more than our immediate world of material matter, we are also made up of our inner more sensitive world of emotions, which are connected to our thoughts, feelings, desires, and visions for a promising future.
However, when I start to talk in these terms, people often become dismissive, defensive, and disagreeable. Perhaps that’s because people think we must keep social and spiritual concepts separate.
But what if keeping them separate has created many of the hardships we are facing today? I believe there is no separation between social and spiritual; unfortunately, humanity is repeatedly creating this illusion of separation, which is accelerating our current unstable reality.
My role as a Light Leader requires bringing these two worlds/realities; social and spiritual together. It doesn’t involve becoming a preacher or religious person. All it requires is the desire to cultivate a promising future for humanity, one where both social and spiritual needs are met and respected. It is acknowledging, honouring, and participating in the process of creation…
Every culture throughout early civilization was centred on a creation myth of some kind.
A creation myth (or creation story) is a cultural, traditional or religious myth, which describes the earliest beginnings of the present world. Creation myths are the most common form of myth, usually developing first in oral traditions, and are found throughout human culture.
A creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths, although not necessarily in a historical or literal sense. And then there are cosmology myths, which describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or nothingness.
What I am suggesting is that human culture was originally based on concepts, like social and spiritual connection. This is not a new or unusual concept; perhaps we have just forgotten the nature of our origins and adopted a more hedonistic mindset and need to evolve our awareness to be Benevolent and Holistic. I’m not saying we need to return to ancient practices, but rather we can draw on these useful concepts.
Here are three simple definitions that I believe are aligned with the Light Leadership model. I see the concept and application of social and spiritual creation and co-creation as valuable tools in our world today.
Definition – Creation
The act or process of creating.Something that has been brought into existence or created.The act of creating or engendering; give rise to.
These neutral definitions of creation also provide a great platform from which to form a new and stronger style of leadership. The idea of creation is the combination of being in the continuous process of social and spiritual activity.
Humans are creations themselves, so the process of becoming socially and spiritually creative enhances our ability to create even more. Creating a new, creating together, creating social systems and creating spiritually sound relationships.
This is how we grow a vibrant and creative new humanity. – I don’t see an end to the process, but rather it requires a commitment to stay in the process until your time is up; your life cycle is complete. Perhaps we need to stay in a continuous process of creation for the new humanity to remain just that; it must always stay in a state of new.
So, in summary, I know social and spiritual are one of the same and do need to co-exist. We require social structures with a sound unity-based context, for the refined qualities of our human spirit to be creative and fully expressed.
Being openly social and spiritual is my real quest and mission.
My work is not mainstream, yet. However, for Social and Spiritual Synergy to be accepted in our world I must express my own social and spiritual authenticity.
As a Light Leader, I am committed to maintaining and repairing the social and spiritual fabric of our humanity. And as a Light Leader, I am prepared to stay in the process of alignment, adjustment and affirmation of my co-creation for as long as it takes.
I continue to believe if I’m able to observe the perfected patterns of nature; Creation, desirable results will form organically and the true nature of success will take up its rightful place in the minds and hearts of community and humanity.
Hope is my Leadership and it’s fuelled by my conviction to serve something greater than myself, with which I am also aligned. People often think hope is for the naive or unworldly, but I know hope is for the brave-hearted.
It is the North Star of my authentic leadership because my ancestor’s hope lives on in the heart of my true nature. – All I need to do is to show up and be me!
Heart to Heart, Dear Ones and may your Social and Spiritual life in 2023 be a creative and fulfilling adventure. Blessings Abound, Elizabeth
I believe our human story began with the evolution of human consciousness, which then started to build the earths noosphere (the thinking layer of earth). When men and women began to share their stories (their art) around the camp fire and on the walls of their caves we began to grow our ability to relate to each other.
Some how we knew it was important to tell of our experiences, how we hunt, how we travel, how we live and how we dream. It became a quintessential part of our human experience, the ability to tell story is indeed our rudimentary foundation.
Simply put, with out story we don’t know what we believe in, but with story we can define our heritage, find meaning in what matters to us and learn what is good and bad. Story can be fact or fiction and still have the same effect, if we can relate to the characters or images in a story we can be moved by its message. Story doesn’t always have to deliver a profound message, it can simply be delightful, humorous or even practical.
I always see story in three parts, it has a past, a present and a future.
The amazing discovery about story for me was, we are the story, there is no story without us. Because without us, coupled with the brilliance of imagination there is no story to tell. Everything you see, hear, taste, touch and think about has a story attached to it. All story has its contributing value, it may be good, it may be bad or it may be neutral, what ever it is, its still contributing to the collective consciousness.
What is your story?
What is your back story, what is your present story and does your future story have a brightness of future? Perhaps you have taken on a story that doesn’t match the one you want to share with the world. There is only one time to start a new and inviting story and it is NOW! Start creating the story that you want to contribute to humanity. Be the story you want to hear, be the story that new and exciting generations are built from.
We have entered a new frontier of awareness, which requires women to be New Style Leaders.
If you’re one of these New Style Leaders, chances are you’ve outgrown some areas of your life. The way you operate your career, lifestyle, relationships may now feel foreign to you, so it’s an understatement to say you probably feel a little isolated.
Especially as a New Style Leader, you could be asking yourself questions like…
Why am I here?
How can I make more of a difference?
Who else do I know that is on a higher purpose?
Be assured, if you’re traveling on the road of leadership you are right where you need to be, and finding your “tribe” is a fundamental part of your journey. Here are some tips on consciously calling in your Authentic Leadership Powers that will support you on your journey.
Keys To Staying True To Your Leadership.
Being The Real Deal – Simply put ‘You need to be the Real Deal’… Before you can fully step into your leadership you must know who you are and be living a life in alignment with that truth. You will attract like-minds – but they may be people who are simply matching what you are projecting out to the world. So if that’s an innocent mask of people pleasing, control or enabling, you’re connections and results are likely to be of a similar nature.
Create Distinctions – Understand that the roles people have played in your life have given you a greater understanding and experience of life. Make distinctions around your leadership from a place of development, empowerment and personal responsibility. Often blame justifies our current “Busy” or “Disruptive” lifestyle and can be a wonderful excuse for not creating the right direction and team.
Responsibility – Its important to take full responsibility for your life and the part you played in past relationships and experiences, this creates a deeper awareness around authentic connection – real deal teams don’t put up with B.S – they’ll hold you accountable to being the best leader you can be, call you on your stuff and inspire you to lead with integrity, confidence, passion and clarity.
Identify And Clarify – Make a conscious decision about who you want to be as a leader and where that’s heading, what you want and don’t want for the future – then create the lifestyle and people who can support that – many times you know what you don’t want because you’ve experienced it. So change that by only focusing on what works well.
Review Your Relationships – Recognise old relationships that no longer serve you – this doesn’t mean they are ‘bad’ or what they are choosing to do with their life is wrong. It just means you need to be supported in your leadership. This takes a commitment to yourself and your vision, which fosters the best version of you. And you need to create personal boundaries around how you choose to be influenced.
Edify And Unify Your Connections – Identify the kindred spirits already in your life that support your leadership and consciously edify and unify these friendships, because they are part of your tribe and extremely valuable.
End Relationships That Hinder – Cut energetic ties that bind you to the past and to old ideas about who you think you are, and who others think you are. Allow yourself to be a leader, then confidently create and sustain relationships that nourish and support your vision.
Add Value And Shine – Correct and transform any personal behavior that lowers your vibration and observe how you attract people who may be mirroring negative beliefs around you. Give yourself permission to shine. This may require gently re-educating some people about who you are as a new style leader.
In Summary – Recognize Your Leadership And Your Tribe
Understand how to recognise your TribeTalkers when you connect with them. Be Brave, Be Real, Be Present and notice if people feel energetically appropriate, notice if you’re energising them and take action to follow up those connections.
Leaders need people who are on their team… Yes?
You need people who are on your team!
You need to understand your role as a team player.
Find out who’s available to share in your story.
Create a team who inspire you to be a better person.
Promote your new style of leadership to humanity.
Connect with people who make you feel appreciated, valued, and deeply understood…
Take the pledge to be a New Style Leader, welcome these concepts into your life and your community will be waiting on the other side.
Did you know that great brands have compelling stories attached to them that also have particular archetypes, which drive the story to connect with their appropriate customers/audience?
And NOT every brand draws their power from the same archetypes.
Plus, successful brands value their customers by acknowledging their basic and spiritual human needs.
Using an innovative and cognitive approach to personal branding coupled with clear storytelling principles Living Attributes gets to the heart of what really matters in your life and in your business/leadership: your customers/community/audience.
When you understand your customers, community and audience… their behaviors, dreams, and needs.
You can connect your products and services to their hearts and minds, which creates a clear pathway to brand loyalty.
Applying the Living Attributes Archetypes and Avatars Typology, we begin to uncover the archetypal images that you and your customers/audience instinctively associate with around your brand.
Recognizing and linking these appropriate archetypes, together with an interesting brand story creates a powerful marketing message and can attract loyal customers to your business. With these valuable insights into the way the human psyche works, your products and services go beyond conventional beliefs about marketing and advertising. In this engaging process of personal development, you learn how to connect deeply with your customers. Successful brands like Apple, Nike and Ikea enjoy an unusual level of customer loyalty.
Why is that? – More than just selling products and services, these brands fulfill their customer’s social and spiritual needs. Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and psychiatrist Carl Jung researched, trialed and formed many psychological insights around human basic needs and archetypical patterning, which shaped a new way of looking at the human experience. The Living Attributes Archetype Typology identifies and defines the power of one’s archetypes, which are universal mental (collective consciousness) images and patterns of behavior that all humans share.
This informative and comprehensive system has a social and spiritual philosophy as well as a personal and professional one. It reveals and explains how your personal brand can also be connected to your professional product/service brand/leadership.
Suggesting that your inner world will in fact imprint onto your outer world. Once you have a true understanding of your own particular archetypes and how they can create customer loyalty, you are able to create a community of Brand Believers or Brand Tribers who are happy to support you, simply because you are supporting them at a deeper level by serving their human needs, dreams, and desires.
If you would like to know more on how to create your personal brand from a place of new style leadership, unity, pure intent and unbounded imagination – I can help you walk that path.
Living Attributes Typology is your doorway into living a larger story!
The internet is going wild at present with the concept of Archetype and Avatar Branding, which makes me very excited to share with you the deeper purpose of my business Living Attributes.
I have been writing and presenting on the power of Archetypical Patterning now for over 20 years…
The Living Attributes Typology is different to other systems because it was born from my own experience. I began witnessing people’s archetypical patterning long before I had even heard of the term. I first began to recognize a person’s archetypes while I was working with them as an image consultant and personal development facilitator and have continued to work with people at this level ever since. The exciting news is the Living Attributes system has grown and developed enormously over the years into a comprehensive and creative tool, which helps women identify what their life’s purpose is and how to best use their archetypical connections to become a New Style Leader in our world. The system explores all aspects of your life:
A good story is always told from many levels.
A step-by-step approach that makes it easy for you to understand and communicate your personal culture and strengths; Your Valuable Life Story.
By using the Living Attributes system you can create your personal brand, your identity, and your quest.
We know storytelling is the age-old art that connects people and archetypes are the architects of story… There is no story without them.
Archetypes are universal characters that cross all time, culture and history; Storytelling connects people at a deep, emotionally charged level.
Your personal story can be an inspiration to others and when you fully connect to your deep archetypical patterning, it awakens a larger story and meaningful life. It also enables you to communicate in a more compelling and consistent manner. Your message can guide your story and move the hearts of people you meet and do business with.
The more connected and authentic you are, the more memorable your story becomes, and the easier it is to communicate to your audience. The Living Attributes system has many key elements that are discussed at your personal culture appointment, this session is designed to identify and help you build your New Style Leadership values and strengths. Through this process, I will uncover and align your story with your business or vocation and put strategies in place to assist you on your journey.
I also have extensive experience at facilitating New Style Leadership groups – So if you are someone who really wants to step up and start living the life you are encoded to live, Living Attributes can help you do that. Living Attributes gives you tools to identify your archetypes and then put their amazing qualities to use so you can shine and live your true story.
Elizabeth Ellames 