Cultivating the
Inner Qualities
we need to lead
The idea
In business schools and universities, we learn ways to analyze, organize, and manage the world around us, but seldom how to lead ourselves.
Yet, our inner, personal qualities such as presence, focus, self-awareness, and empathy have a great influence on how we show up as leaders and influence the organisation around us.
After almost two decades of working with leadership development, I have found that few organisations leverage the potential that lies in cultivating leaders' inner capabilities. I have therefore dedicated myself to exploring practical and science-based ways of building the inner qualities we need to lead well.
Having worked with over a thousand leaders over the years, what has emerged is a curriculum that draws on research and practices from a wide variety of fields such as neuroscience, systems thinking, developmental psychology as well as contemplative practices.
Many leaders have testified that applying these pragmatic practices has been a game changer for their leadership.
The book
To offer leaders a practical training manual for the mind, I have condensed a decade of experience into a book.
This is a research-backed guide for how to grow inner capabilities enabling sustainable leadership in this time. It is built around five areas that many leaders will recognize as being challenging on a personal level, such as how to stay calm under pressure, navigate in uncertainty or collaborate skilfully with people with diverse points of views.
While many leadership books describe the importance of such traits, few show how to actually cultivate them. With more than 40 reflections and mental exercises, this book offers a guided tour to an ‘inner gym’, showing readers how to train these capabilities.
Testimonials
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This is foundational for great leaders. The understanding of looking inside yourself and exercising the brain has changed the way we look at training and is now foundational for our leadership programs. Thank you, Joakim, for bringing this to our organization!
Monica Bolander, Learning & Development Director, EQT Group
Joakim Eriksson has created a strong framework for understanding the intrinsic connections between body, mind, and leadership. Packed with insights for how to strengthen leaders’ inner capabilities, the framework provides actionable advice for building a more effective and sustainable leadership practice.
Anders Møller Jakobsen, Deputy Director General, Department of Social Services, City of Copenhagen
Joakim offers a necessary toolbox and important perspectives for everyone who want s to have a positive impact on the world
Jan Artem Henriksson, Executive Director Inner Development Goals, Senior Fellow at Human Flourishing Network at Harvard
Short about Joakim Eriksson
Having worked over 15 years in leadership roles ranging from front line manager to C-level postions, I have first hand experience with the complexities of leadership. In addition, I have close to 20 years of experience as a facilitator and executive coach for multinational organisations.
I wouldn't argue that I have invented anything that is new in itself, but I rather see it as my role to connect the dots between different fields of research and practice, and make this wisdom approachable and practical for leaders.
Besides projects related to my book, I also work for Potential Project, a global research and leadership development firm focused on mind training for leaders.
