Rooted Leadership- The Energy of stability & trust
- Robert Slob
- Jul 30
- 4 min read
“You can’t grow a tree by pulling on its branches. It begins with the soil.”
Leadership is no different. We keep reaching upward: for growth, scale and performance. Yet, we forget what everything rests on: the ground we stand on.
And this isn’t just a metaphor. It’s biology. It’s energy. It’s truth.
Presence is the soil. Trust is the water. Stability is the root system. Without these, every strategy you design, every plan you execute, is a tree trying to grow without earth.
You can feel it, can’t you? The subtle difference between a leader who “does” and a leader who “is”.
One moves the surface. The other anchors the whole.
Modern Leadership Feels Ungrounded
WHY? Most leaders are operating in constant reaction mode: endless decisions, unrelenting pressure, and racing to keep up. It looks like productivity, but underneath it’s fatigue, both personal and cultural.
When leadership energy is ungrounded, the whole system vibrates with instability. Decisions come from survival, not vision. Teams sense it before you say a word.
The paradox is simple: the harder we try to control, the less stable it becomes. You can’t build trust on shaky ground.
The cost of instability
Instability is expensive in energy, culture, and performance.
When the root system of leadership is weak, trust leaks. Teams tighten. Creativity shuts down. The organisation compensates by adding process, oversight, and noise, while the real issue isn’t skill or strategy, but the absence of grounded presence.
What looks like a performance problem is often a nervous system problem. A leadership presence problem.
Root before fruit
There’s another way. And it’s not about doing more. It’s about becoming more "rooted".
A grounded leader isn’t just calm. They’re clear. They make decisions from a deeper place.
One that steadies the whole system:
They don’t dominate. They hold space.
They don’t rush to speak. They listen for what’s true.
They don’t lead from fear. They lead from inner alignment.
Because they’ve done the inner work of rooting (grounding) themselves, not in titles or KPIs, but in something more enduring: Presence. Integrity. Connection.
Regenerative Leadership Practices
Regenerative leadership begins with rootedness in the body, in culture,...... in energy.
When the root system is healthy, everything above ground thrives.
Nature gives the blueprint. Roots don’t rush; they deepen. Mycelium networks don’t command; they connect and share life. Leadership can be the same: grounded, interconnected, and designed to nourish more than itself.
Practical Tool: The Daily Energy Audit
Before you speak, before you plan, before you act...pause.
Leadership energy is never neutral. And, it always ripples.
Ask yourself:
"Body: What ground am I standing on — literally and energetically?"
"Emotion: What signal is my nervous system broadcasting right now?"
"Focus: Is my attention scattered or coherent?"
"Purpose: Does this action feed the future we are becoming?"
"Culture: Are we nourishing stability and trust — or compensating for their absence?"
Five questions. Five minutes. A whole system can shift.
Grounding Is Not a Luxury
It’s a leadership practice
The more complex the environment, the simpler your internal state must become.
Grounded presence doesn’t require hours of meditation or a mountain retreat. It starts with rhythm. It deepens with attention.
Here are a few ways to begin if you are unfamiliar with it:
Take 2 minutes of silence before every major meeting.
Stand or walk barefoot for a few minutes each morning.
Breathe deep into your belly before hitting “send.”
Check in with your body before you check your inbox.
Eat slowly. Speak intentionally. Listen fully.
These aren’t luxuries. They’re rituals of leadership. They don’t slow you down. They stabilise you to move with true speed, clarity, and grace.
Leadership that others can lean on
Here’s something rarely said in boardrooms:
People don’t just follow your vision. They follow your nervous system.
If you’re grounded, they feel safe. If you’re scattered, they don’t.
Lead from a frequency others can feel. And choose to follow. To Align with.
When your presence becomes a point of orientation for others, you’re no longer just managing teams —You’re becoming a steady signal in the noise.
This is what our times are asking for right now.
Rethinking Performance
Most organizations are obsessed with performance: output, efficiency, profit. But performance is the fruit. The root is always the quality of energy behind the action.
Imagine measuring:
Purpose alignment — "Does what we do reflect who we are becoming?"
Presence — Are people alive, aware, and connected in their work?
Emotional energy — Is the culture generating trust, care, and vitality — or draining it?
Coherence — Is the system in flow, or are we compensating for internal friction?
Regenerative impact — Are we leaving people, communities, and ecosystems more whole than we found them?
These aren’t soft metrics. They are indicators of aliveness. When we measure what matters, we design organisations that are not just high-performing, but deeply human, vibrantly alive, and built for the long run.
A final word and a quiet challenge
Be the tree in the storm. Not because you resist the wind, but because you trust the ground.
Leadership doesn’t begin with control. It begins with connection. First with the earth beneath your own feet, then with the people entrusted to walk beside you.
Ask yourself each day: "What am I feeding my leadership root system?"
Let’s walk this path — not as perfect leaders, but as present ones.
Welcome to The Field.
Floris Robert Slob - Founder of The NeO Frequency
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