Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of January 26th
Triumph and Disaster
I suppose it’s natural we mostly refer to successes when studying leadership. We revere champions and, as such, we are inclined to study the how and why of victory. But much is to be learned about leadership in studying disaster; maybe more. What I find most compelling about leadership, when it comes to the extremes of triumph and disaster, is not what led to each outcome, but instead, how much did each outcome change the nature of the leader? I have long believed the nature of a leader is best seen in the extremes of victory or defeat, because extremes present a crucible capable of stripping away any false masks. Who we are as leaders will be tested most directly during highs and lows, but if we are centered and anchored–these extremes should not change who we truly are. In this vein, I admire this wisdom from Rudyard Kipling: “If you can, meet with triumph and disaster, and treat these two imposters just the same.” Winning and losing are imposters; who we are inside endures.
All Days Are Key Days
In pursuit of masterful leadership there’s a tendency to believe there exists a key date just over the horizon when we finally arrive at mastery. We tend to think of leadership excellence as an exact destination with a finite time and place, where we might say: I have arrived. I call this the illusion of “some day” leadership (some day, when I have all the experience and training, then I will be a great leader). This illusion incorrectly focuses on a future day when all the stars align, all conditions are right, and a magic switch turns on. Sounds nice, but excellence doesn’t work that way. Here’s a more truthful reality about leadership excellence: All days are key days; all moments are key moments; all events matter. Each moment is key because within that moment resides a teacher; a vital opportunity to experience the feeling of leading and internalize its lessons. So yes, all days are key days on the path to excellence.
Lead Like There’s No Tomorrow
Lead now because soon enough it will be time to go home
Lead now because soon enough it will be time to go
Lead now because soon enough it will be time
Lead now because soon enough it will be
Lead now because soon enough
Lead now because
Lead now
Lead
Lost and Found
Reflect on your life and your path as a leader. When you look back at your journey you see highs and lows, victories and defeats, joy and pain, smooth and rough. The texture of the leadership path seems to contain these contours for everyone, just in differing degrees and situations. What I find most interesting, though, is what appeared to be true at the time of these highs and lows looks now, in retrospect, to be much different. The highs, when experienced, were heady stuff, and we surely felt they had much to do with our excellence. In hindsight, we see the highs had more to do with our teams, some luck, and a good dose of grace in most cases. The lows, when we experienced them, hurt a lot and seemed like total inconveniences. Now we see those setbacks much differently; they were necessary teachers, and with the passage of time, their lessons guide us more fully than any victory. My point in this? What is lost is nothing compared to what is found. Our setbacks and defeats, compared to wisdom gained through the crucible, would barely fill a thimble cup.
Yearning
I am often asked, “What is the best way to teach a young person leadership?” I think the best place to start is to cultivate in the person a yearning to be a great leader. For example, say we wanted to teach a young man to be a master sailor, or a young woman to be a master dancer. We could start with some technical training like how to rig a sail or how to properly fit dance shoes. But a far better place to start would be to teach each of them to yearn to be excellent; for the man how to yearn for the sea, for the woman how to yearn for the stage. Yearning becomes the unforgettable fire strong enough to sustain the person along a life-long path of development. Yearning becomes the internal true north capable of setting the right heading, azimuth, and vector. When mentoring young leaders we have two basic choices we can select; teach them what leaders do, or, teach them who leaders are. I believe we must start with the latter (who leaders are), and we can do this best by creating a yearning to become masterful leaders. Yearn for the sea and you’ll learn to sail. Yearn to guide others towards excellence and you’ll learn to lead.
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