The transition from military service to civilian life can be both exhilarating and daunting. We’ve dedicated years and missed many precious moments while serving the country, developing a strong sense of duty to our units and each other, honor toward the values supporting that which we defend, and leadership among our peers and colleagues across a cross-section of agencies. Now, you’re exploring a new landscape coupled with unfamiliar routines, career paths, and social dynamics.
For many veterans or people in transition, the challenges during a reorganization can be high. Some challenges include changing jobs or roles, reintegrating into a civilian community or neighborhood, and reorienting oneself and one’s family toward a renewed sense of purpose beyond previous experiences and military service. It’s definitely a period of self-discovery, exploration, and personal and professional development.
And while it can require one’s full attention, the good news is that much of those past skills and knowledge gained and in military service are more valuable than ever. Consider, you’re disciplined, dedicated, and resourceful; these advantages will ensure you smoothly transcend into your new chapter.
This post looks at how the principles we gained of servant leadership, authentic leadership, and Aparigraha (a yogic concept of non-attachment) empower you, facilitating purpose, self-actualization, and accomplishment post-transition.
Internal Leadership: Following Your Choices with Aparigraha
Effective leadership begins with self-leadership. Granted, the military instilled and stressed many mundane aspects to living within that environment. Those tasks were important skill-building roles for the demanding opportunities that were to come later as we progressed in rank and position. The cumulative effect of those tasks confirmed the importance of discipline, responsibility, decision-making, and strategic thinking. The time has now arrived for you to consider your community and yourself as you apply those skills to deliver your future, your higher self now:
- Self-Reflection and Letting Go: Sometimes, you need to make time for time. Give yourself space for introspection. You have a lot to consider, preeminently your personal core values. Think about the kind of impact you want to make in the world. And, while the military (in many cases) gave us a ‘job’ (sometimes not our first pick), you have this golden opportunity to assess and direct your passions and skills. Take time to journal, meditate, and dive into a few personality assessments for self-discovery. By identifying your core purpose, and releasing yourself of many military attachments and identities, you’re engaging in Aparigraha. This act of letting go gives you the space to embrace new opportunities while exploring facets of yourself that support your true purpose.
- Skills Inventory with Non-Attachment: Look back on the skills and experiences you gained during service. What leadership roles did you excel in? If you were a team member, what inputs did you provide to shape the direction of the team, it’s eventual outcomes? Were you sought after because of your problem-solving abilities? Was your technical expertise deep enough to rewrite the manual for equipment and or processes? Dig deep to explore and transfer skills toward your civilian career opportunities, entrepreneurship, or any number of fields you find connection and aspiration. From finance, logistics, project management, to include culinary arts and fitness, many military skills translate exceptionally well to a host of industries. Again, by liberating yourself from the many military titles or roles (Aparigraha), you’re focusing on the transferable value you bring.
- Broader Field of Vision and Goal Setting: We all experienced and at times, may have questioned others regarding their five- or ten-year plans. While there are a number of decent tools to help, consider using a values-based goal-setting framework. This framework helps you delineate your core values first (e.g., service, innovation, collaboration). Then, you’ll embark on set goals for yourself that align with your values. values. This is all about you. This fosters an organic and deeply meaningful, resilient approach to goal setting compared to the rigidity of SMART goals. This approach isn’t necessarily linear because it gives you the opportunity and comfort to evolve as you learn and grow, with underlying nuances of openness toward new possibilities (Aparigraha).
Organization is the Garden.
The Leader is Sower.
Harvest the Success.
Leading Authentically through Integrity and Purpose
Authentic leadership is all about you. It’s about your leading yourself using your true self. There’s nothing gimmicky in this because you’ll be leveraging and capitalizing on your strengths, experiences, and values. It’s nothing more than what you’re capable of: Inspiring and connecting with others. Let’s explore a few methods to cultivate authentic leadership:
Liberate LIMFACS: Your dedicated service played a significant part of your identity. But it doesn’t entirely define you going forward unless you want it to. Equally, it doesn’t command nor order your future. Embrace the unique skills and experiences you acquired while discovering and promoting new facets of yourself. Being called by a military title is unique when measured against the whole of society, and that uniqueness has personal and professional salience because it required disciplined effort to attain. Yet, outside of the military or government setting, its uniqueness suffers because the title is tied to a hierarchy you now have power to transcend at will. This parallels Aparigraha because of the letting go, the release from the limitation of your identity being coupled to military service. You are on your own terms.
Vulnerability as a New Strength: Don’t hesitate to share your story of transition. (I’ll be the first one to admit that I am.) And I know many veterans face similar challenges. But I also know that sharing experiences fosters connections with others, and may possibly inspire them on their own journeys. This vulnerability becomes a form of authentic leadership, a means of paying ‘it forward.’ Our individual and collective vulnerability, wearing ‘it’ on our sleeves gives witness as relatable, liberating limitations, attachments and perceptions to a perfect or stoic image (Aparigraha).
Value-Driven Decision Making: Live your values in every aspect of your life. This is challenging, no doubt. But, over time, every decision (no matter how significant) not only builds external trust and respect with others, but more critically with yourself as you flex your values. Others witness your evolution as you embody and personify the values you carefully cultivate. Your steadfast commitment to personal integrity and service will externally signal to your community highlighting your authentic leadership style.
Others Before Self: As many of us can attest, servant leadership emphasizes the needs and growth of others. Due to this external approach and perspective, servant leadership reinforces and aligns with the meaning of service many veterans possess. So, let’s move to the drill pad to consider a few ways to integrate servant leadership principles:
- Sharing Your Knowledge:By releasing much of the knowledge obtained and learned, these insights help others navigate their own transition process. This sharing embodies servant leadership because it focuses on the needs of others, the mission of sharing and the whole, before oneself. In terms of Aparigraha, the motivation hovers toward the circulation and growth of knowledge, and more tangibly, the growth of the veteran community. It’s this non-attachment to a static was of being toward something with a higher vibrational intensity.
- Fostering Community Connection:This may not seem on par with Aparigraha, but rest assured there is commonality. Firstly, look for and share with veteran support networks and organizations. Doing so lends a sense of belonging and camaraderie within and among connections. Secondly, developing strong support systems releases one from the limitations and attachment of going it alone and isolation, to embracing the cumulative power of community. These two aspects align quite well with Aparigraha in that servant leadership helps fellow veterans) and letting go of isolation.
- Sharing Success via Collaboration:As veterans, we often excel in team environments as that has been ingrained since MEPS, and perhaps prior in sports. Engage your collaborative skills building strong and resilient relationships with colleagues and affinity groups to nurture positive workplace dynamics. This leadership approach helps the entire team and facilitates a more fulfilling professional experience. In terms of Aparigraha, by sharing skills and successes you’re promoting the greater good of the team while enhancing your strengths and values. This approach couples Ahimsa in that sharing is reinforced by a concern for others to uplift everyone’s previous static thoughts and limiting beliefs.
The whole future lies in uncertainty:
Live immediately.”
- Seneca -
Leading Authentically through Integrity and Purpose
Authentic leadership is all about you. It’s about your leading yourself using your true self. There’s nothing gimmicky in this because you’ll be leveraging and capitalizing on your strengths, experiences, and values. It’s nothing more than what you’re capable of: Inspiring and connecting with others. Let’s explore a few methods to cultivate authentic leadership:
Liberate LIMFACS: Your dedicated service played a significant part of your identity. But it doesn’t entirely define you going forward unless you want it to. Equally, it doesn’t command nor order your future. Embrace the unique skills and experiences you acquired while discovering and promoting new facets of yourself. Being called by a military title is unique when measured against the whole of society, and that uniqueness has personal and professional salience because it required disciplined effort to attain. Yet, outside of the military or government setting, its uniqueness suffers because the title is tied to a hierarchy you now have power to transcend at will. This parallels Aparigraha because of the letting go, the release from the limitation of your identity being coupled to military service. You are on your own terms.
Vulnerability as a New Strength: Don’t hesitate to share your story of transition. (I’ll be the first one to admit that I am.) And I know many veterans face similar challenges. But I also know that sharing experiences fosters connections with others, and may possibly inspire them on their own journeys. This vulnerability becomes a form of authentic leadership, a means of paying ‘it forward.’ Our individual and collective vulnerability, wearing ‘it’ on our sleeves gives witness as relatable, liberating limitations, attachments and perceptions to a perfect or stoic image (Aparigraha).
Value-Driven Decision Making: Live your values in every aspect of your life. This is challenging, no doubt. But, over time, every decision (no matter how significant) not only builds external trust and respect with others, but more critically with yourself as you flex your values. Others witness your evolution as you embody and personify the values you carefully cultivate. Your steadfast commitment to personal integrity and service will externally signal to your community highlighting your authentic leadership style.
Others Before Self: As many of us can attest, servant leadership emphasizes the needs and growth of others. Due to this external approach and perspective, servant leadership reinforces and aligns with the meaning of service many veterans possess. So, let’s move to the drill pad to consider a few ways to integrate servant leadership principles:
- Sharing Your Knowledge:By releasing much of the knowledge obtained and learned, these insights help others navigate their own transition process. This sharing embodies servant leadership because it focuses on the needs of others, the mission of sharing and the whole, before oneself. In terms of Aparigraha, the motivation hovers toward the circulation and growth of knowledge, and more tangibly, the growth of the veteran community. It’s this non-attachment to a static was of being toward something with a higher vibrational intensity.
- Fostering Community Connection:This may not seem on par with Aparigraha, but rest assured there is commonality. Firstly, look for and share with veteran support networks and organizations. Doing so lends a sense of belonging and camaraderie within and among connections. Secondly, developing strong support systems releases one from the limitations and attachment of going it alone and isolation, to embracing the cumulative power of community. These two aspects align quite well with Aparigraha in that servant leadership helps fellow veterans) and letting go of isolation.
- Sharing Success via Collaboration:As veterans, we often excel in team environments as that has been ingrained since MEPS, and perhaps prior in sports. Engage your collaborative skills building strong and resilient relationships with colleagues and affinity groups to nurture positive workplace dynamics. This leadership approach helps the entire team and facilitates a more fulfilling professional experience. In terms of Aparigraha, by sharing skills and successes you’re promoting the greater good of the team while enhancing your strengths and values. This approach couples Ahimsa in that sharing is reinforced by a concern for others to uplift everyone’s previous static thoughts and limiting beliefs.
- Sven