Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of Jan 19th
An Old Home
Growing up in the Boston area I recall many colonial-era homes in my neighborhood. The character of these old homes always strikes me, not simply for their architectural appeal, but for their longevity. Great leadership has much in common with the upkeep of old homes in this crucial way: foundations are in need of constant renovation. Foundations of leadership, both personal and organizational, contain the cornerstones of strength and excellence, muck like the foundation of a home. These cornerstones—things like ethos, meaning, purpose, and character—can atrophy unless maintained by a devoted caretaker. The silent artillery of time, as Lincoln referred to atrophy, can chip away at once solid foundations, leaving them, like a house in disrepair, as only faint memories of their once vibrant condition. Great leadership, we learn over time, is more a case of renovation than creation. It is therefore a leader’s sacred obligation to attend to foundations–the cornerstones of excellence—to ensure our leadership and our organizations survive the silent artillery of time.
The Off Season
Watching the College Football playoffs this year, I heard a TV commentator say, “Champions are crowned at the end of the season.” Though true, this statement misses a more important point: Champions are made in the off season. And so it is true with great leaders. It is in the off season, when the lights are turned off, the stadium empty, and no one is looking, where hard work and the crucible of preparation forge the soul of a champion. In so many ways, the outcome on the field of play is actually determined months before the team steps into the arena. As leaders, our performance in the present moment will be determined, by and large, by actions taken or not taken months or years before. So it is wise for all leaders to heed the call of the off season, to pay our dues on the practice fields and along the dusty road of preparation, so we are ready for prime time when it comes. Yes, Champions may be crowned at season’s end, but they are made in the off season.
A Sofa or a Springboard
Leadership is the blending of vision and action. Yes, leaders must first see where they are going before they can effectively prosecute their plan. Vision is the necessary first step. The potential pitfall of vision and planning, however, is this: A completed plan can become like a sofa; an all-too-comfortable place to pause, sit and admire our position, and luxuriate in plans we’ve made. Great leaders recognize this pitfall and quickly move into bold action. Through initiative, they turn the sofa into a springboard. Leaders must learn to value action as highly as vision, and likewise, leaders must nurture the courage to move with conviction once an azimuth of march has been selected. Getting from here to there isn’t about perfection; it is about moving in about the right direction with will and purpose and then, making agile course corrections. Great leaders choose the springboard over the sofa through bold initiative and decisive behavior.
Collapsing Stars
I read this interesting fact yesterday: In an average day, a young child laughs over 100 times; an adult, 5 times. What happens to us along the arc of our lives to diminish this internal optimism? The pressure of work? Stress? I am not sure, but I do think there is a lesson here for all leaders to consider: Who we are, and what we project, matters to those around us. Our inner world is much like a star. If we cultivate a positive and rich inner life, we will burn brightly, and positively illuminate our surroundings. If we devolve into negative emotions of anger, pettiness, and cynicism, we become like a collapsing star, pulling everyone in our orbit towards an increasingly small, toxic, and diminished core. I have seen both types of leaders—those who shine brightly and illuminate the path to excellence and elevated performance, and those whose inner dimness sucks the life out of a group. Leadership is a sacred obligation, and those fortunate enough to lead others should consider carefully the core of their inner world and the quality of their inner light.
Horizons
Leadership is the story of how we go from here to there. And let’s face it; many of us don’t want to leave here to go anywhere. It takes a masterful leader who invites us to go on a journey of growth and change. And in this movement we are pulled towards a distant horizon initially measured in miles and great expanses. This is the stuff of leadership vision, end states, and strategy. Distant horizons are necessary as the broad aiming points of our collective azimuth; the sunlit uplands to which we collectively aspire and move. But not all horizons are measured in broad strokes. Once we start moving, horizons are often measured in feet and inches. This is the stuff of tactics and execution. This is the realm where everything matters, even the smallest details and the finest lines. So as we move from here to there, it is wise for leaders to embrace horizons, both distant and near, and never forget that victory is won, quite often, when horizons are measured in feet, not miles. Small things matter.
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!
Tweet Share