Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of March 9th

Right Now

One of the hardest qualities of leadership to master is the ability to recognize the importance of right now. Today, this very day, is the only day we can truly influence; yesterday is gone, tomorrow has yet to emerge. Right now is our reality but it is also an emergent gift we are given. Think of it this way: All of your past days have been leading to this very moment, and similarly, all of your future days will proceed from this very moment. Therefore, right now is a vital crossroads; the confluence of all your past actions and all your future aspirations. Moreover, there will never be another day exactly like today. If we correctly lead through this prism of right now we see more clearly the need to seize the day. Great leaders rise each morning, much like Native American Plains Warriors of lore, saying: “Today is a good day to do great things.” We never know with absolute certainty what today’s leadership actions may bring; we just have to trust that real significance is borne by linking many great days in a row like pearls hung on a string. So we must lead with a positive sense of urgency right now because today will be gone before we know it.

From Many, One

Next to my condo is the San Diego Children’s Museum. On Saturday mornings children gather there to create arts and crafts. Recently, a group of children created pin wheels made of multi-colors and hues. As I watched them move the pin wheels through the air, the whirling affect caused the multiple colors to blend into a single color. And I thought: What a great metaphor for leading and creating ethos! When we begin leading a group, the members are like the static pin wheel; many individual, disparate, and isolated elements. But as we begin to apply positive leadership and create unity, the wheel starts to turn faster and faster and gradually, the once individualized elements blend into one cohesive whole. Similarly, at the beginning, the demographic elements are segmented and isolated; younger versus older, experienced versus inexperienced. Once again, with positive leadership, the wheel starts to turn faster and the same blending affect occurs, where past, present, and future now align into a single arc of common experience. It’s the leader’s sacred obligation to enable this shared intentionality. From many, one.

The Illusion of Our Times

On many levels, life in modern society is getting easier. Think of how effortless it is today to get instant information like driving directions, music, analytical research, the weather. Literally with a tap of a key a world of instantaneous information is available to anyone, anywhere. That this is a technological marvel is without question; however, viewed from the prism of leadership, which is the domain of effectiveness not efficiency, I grow concerned about our insatiable demand for instant gratification–the illusion of our times. Leadership is a master craft and will always defy instant gratification. We will never evolve technologically to the point were one can download, like a killer app, the secrets of leadership. There are simply no shortcuts to leadership mastery, any more than the ancient Japanese Tea Ceremony could be reduced to a 5 x 8 card, taught in a one day class, and still produce classic tea masters. Sorry, but excellence of any form will always take a lifetime, and even then, we still don’t fully get there.

Predisposition

The most oft-asked question about leadership is, can everyone be a great leader? The truthful answer is, no. However, a more important question is, can everyone become a better leader? Yes, but only if one is predisposed to wanting to. Having a predisposition to lead is akin to seeing oneself as a leader and seeing the world as a leader sees it. This predisposition to lead is a mindset essential to better leadership. Here’s the brutal truth we must face: No amount of teaching will convince a person to lead unless one’s predisposition to be convinced is stronger than one’s predisposition not to be. For anyone not predisposed to leadership, no amount of facts or statistics will convince them of the existence of great leadership. Which leads to this related question: How do we create in people this predisposition for leading? By experiencing leadership! No form of excellence can be fully explained; it can only be experienced. Only when we experience leadership, much like experiencing the joy of travel or the soulfulness of camaraderie, do we open ourselves to the call and the door finally opens.

Improvement

The life-long path to leadership mastery is strewn with many twists and turns and triumphs and defeats. So, how do we know if, or when, we are improving? How do we know we are getting it, and getting there? I don’t think there’s a precise metric, per se, but here are a few subtle clues. We are improving when:

We find ourselves being better men and woman than we are;
We act wiser than we know;
We summon courage we never knew we had;
We offer compassion when before we struck a blow;
We are graceful in the face of adversity;
We realize the gold we’ve gained is valuable only if given away.

Check back next Monday for a round up of this week’s social media shares. Or check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest to see our posts every day!

« return to the blog