Most leaders I work with are astute enough to recognize the limitations of a purely material view of life. They are navigating what I call the frontier between inner stillness and outer impact.

Leaders who are moving from a fixation on outer results towards inner stillness can experience a sense of detachment – of taking the focus away from the material results in their life and placing it on their identity and self.

This can be a useful step, sometimes even a necessary counter to their existing worldview which might be devoid of any spiritual/personal growth orientation.

This detachment helps their minds relax and notice the obvious that is overlooked. It can help them be more present, and connect with themselves more deeply. This helps in increasing their performance, relationships with stakeholders and their ability to navigate complexity.

This newfound stillness and peace can feel really enjoyable. For many, this does come across as a blessing, a final freedom from all the unnecessary suffering that they’ve unknowingly and innocently subjected themselves to.

In my experience, it is a misunderstanding that this is ‘the goal of life’. We did not come here just to withdraw from the world, detach and be still. We came here to know ourselves and play freely as we desire.

So while this spiritual detachment can be practically useful and can feel good, it can also become a pitfall.

Sometimes, leaders who are ‘spiritually evolved’ can become so fixated on being detached that they don’t care about outer results at all. They see this all as a game and they no longer find themselves interested in the metrics. One would expect their wisdom would translate into better presence and performance. But on the contrary, it can translate into dismissal and denial.

This can occur because their spiritual insight hasn’t fully matured yet. Perhaps they fear that their inner stillness will be lost if they care about outer results. Perhaps they have fallen into the trap of becoming attached to the idea of detachment. Perhaps they are not yet able to see the value in engaging with the outer world. Perhaps they have not settled into their insight long enough for inspiration to move them into action in the outer world.

The pitfalls in spiritual growth are very subtle, and regular personal growth or coaching does not seem to help, unless the coach has personally ventured into these depths within themselves.

Leaders at such thresholds need to understand that while they are being true to themselves when they claim detachment to results, they are also betraying the purpose of playing the specific game they are in.

In Finite and Infinite Games, religious scholar and academic James Carse writes that a finite game is played for the purpose of winning, and an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play. Finite games are characterized by externally defined rules, while infinite games follow internally defined rules.

When leaders realize they are always playing the infinite game of life, they also find themselves with the freedom to enter into any finite game as they like and play freely.

The game of being a CEO of an organization is a finite game. A finite game has externally defined rules. When a leader is sponsored for coaching by their organization, that sponsorship often happens with the intention that the coaching will help them play the finite game of their role better.

The goal of the coaching then is to help them understand the infinite game while playing the finite games even better at the same time.

What happens if the leader understands the infinite game and uses it to justify their lack of investment in fulfilling their role?

Imagine being a cricket player who suddenly realizes that the rules in cricket are made up! Do you now suddenly break all the rules or don’t care about how you play? If so, then you are no longer eligible to play that specific finite game.

By freely choosing to continue playing, you automatically subscribe to the rules for the sake of play. If you don’t find in yourself the very desire to continue playing, you can always exit that game. But you can’t stay in the game for long enough and not play. This is your freedom.

More often than not, when leaders deepen their spiritual insight, they are not in a rush to change games. They see that exiting the current game does not really change much, and so they continue to play. This echoes the Zen proverb, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”

To understand this, imagine you were engrossed in a movie, and halfway through realize that the characters are not real but are made up for the sake of the plot. You wouldn’t feel the need to walk out of the movie theatre because of that.

The finite game of being a CEO involves stakeholders, agreements and results. By continuing to play in that role, you are exercising your freedom to play within those ‘rules’.

If you are conscious of your freedom in choosing to play, then you can play with full intensity and investment. If you have stabilized in your spiritual insight and have a deeper understanding of your ability to access inner stillness anywhere and at anytime, you would not be afraid to move your focus elsewhere, knowing that you are always just one thought away from experiencing peace, freedom and joy.

Games are only fun if you involve yourself in them and play fully. There’s no fun in watching a movie while constantly telling yourself that the characters are not real. Or in playing cricket while your mind keeps chattering that the rules for winning are made up and don’t matter. This just takes you away from presence rather than towards it.

By recognizing that it is a game, you can throw yourself fully in it. This is the whole point of the spiritual journey. To know yourself so fully in your freedom. To exercise that freedom to play freely while you are here in this playground of life. This is the invitation of Awakened Leadership I extend to you.