People rarely resist responsibility. They resist carrying someone else's expectations.
Many leaders search for how they can motivate other people. Perhaps that is not where we should begin. Because the truth is that motivation cannot be given—it must be awakened.
Most leaders have experienced this: You can offer good advice, clear goals, and the right incentives—but without inner ownership, very little happens. When motivation is awakened from within, something entirely different takes place. Initiative appears. Energy rises. The willingness to contribute comes naturally.
In the same way, I've found that leadership becomes more real once it is lived from within. There is no perfect template for leadership. No universal formula that fits every team, person, or situation. What works over time is leadership that feels genuine to each leader.
In the yogic tradition, this points toward satya—being truthful in how we meet ourselves and others. In practice, it means leading in alignment with your values, standing firmly in who you are, and building trust through consistency between words and actions.
For a long time, I questioned whether my softness was a weakness. Many of us have been taught that clarity must be hard, authoritarian, and controlling.
My experience has been the opposite.
When we lead with clarity without harshness, something else becomes possible. In yoga, this is called ahimsa—strength without unnecessary friction. It doesn't mean expecting less of people. It means being clear about the outcome while staying curious about the path, supporting people without creating fear.
When people are met in this way, I often see people begin suggesting improvements instead of waiting for instructions, and better solutions emerge as they enjoy the process.
The truth is that people are far more willing to take responsibility when they have ownership over how they carry it.
Once, I noticed a volunteer always leaving a task unfinished. Instead of my continuous reminders of expectations, I started asking what was getting in the way. They quietly said, "I'm afraid I'll do it wrong."
It turned out they weren't avoiding responsibility. Together, we clarified the outcome we were aiming for, but left the path open for them to figure out. Over the following weeks, I watched them begin taking initiative without being asked. It reminded me that motivation often isn't missing; it's simply buried beneath uncertainty.
This asks us to recognise something more fundamental:
We cannot force other people's choices or motivation.
We can set direction, create structure, and follow up from a place of care and curiosity.
This is where Ishvara pranidhana meets leadership—the ability to let go a little. To trust the process, let people thread their way, without losing the overall direction.
None of this happens by accident. It requires a culture where people are allowed to make mistakes without losing trust. In yoga, we might call this a sangha—a community where people support one another's growth and what it means to be human. In a workplace, it looks surprisingly similar: people speak up, ask questions, and learn without fear of failure.
Because perhaps this is where it truly lives:
Leadership is less about motivating people and more about creating the conditions where motivation can emerge. And perhaps the most powerful way we do that is by cultivating something within ourselves that awakens something in those around us.
By Charlotte Luksepp
General Manager at Nøsen