Leadership is like spring. Leaders cultivate, plant, and encourage growth. Leaders plow new ground. Leadership melts the ice and snow that have accumulated and throws off the weight of what we have carried around all winter. The leaders who inspire me open windows and let in fresh air and new light. Our organizations, and our lives, are like houses that are closed tight to keep out the wind and the snow. We insulate ourselves from the outside world, trying to... Read more
It can be easy to forget about the depth all around us. I am reminded of depth when I look out across the ocean, stand on the peak of a mountain, or walk surrounded by tall trees. I remember when I get away from the lights of a city to watch the stars in the night sky, appreciate inspiring architecture, or spend time listening to silence. It is almost as if the depth of certain experiences reaches out to clear... Read more
Maybe it is because I was walking through the campus of CalTech, near the home of the Einstein Papers Project. Physicists and healers, mystics and engineers: everyone tells us that everything is energy. Mass can be converted into energy and energy into mass. Energy makes life possible, and our bodies create energy. We are surrounded by fields of energy; kinetic energy, solar energy, calories of nutritional energy. We are filled with physical energy, intellectual energy, emotional energy, spiritual energy. We... Read more
Alli Polin is one of the most creative friends I have. She is also an authentic and insightful leader, which makes her very qualified to write about creativity in leadership. I thought it could only help me be more creative if Alli would agree to trade guest posts with me about creative leadership. Read both of our posts and let us know. Alli and I have both lived in Washington, DC, and both moved away to continue creating. I moved... Read more
I listen for the Depth. I listen alone, or with another person, or with other people. Depth is all around us, but we get distracted and forget. We get caught up in meeting a goal, or in a delicious taste, or in watching a movie. Our attention is attracted to a bit of trivia, or another person’s feelings, or something that annoys us, or an immediate threat, and we forget. I listen to the silence, and the Depth is with... Read more
I am conducting longitudinal research on the topic of focus, and your cooperation would be very helpful. My methodology is not complicated. First, I walk as often as I can. I take quite few walks in Southern California, but my research is not limited geographically. I developed my initial protocols in the Midwest. As I walk, no matter where I am going, my intention is to make eye contact and share a smile with as many of the people I... Read more
Happy May Day! I was born and raised in a place where May was an important month, where May meant something. May was spring. It was much less likely to snow in May than in the months before it, and more likely to rain. The snow that had piled up over the winter would be melting in earnest. Lake levels would rise. Of course, there might be a tornado. No season was without its risks. We would begin the long,... Read more
Leadership does not get old or routine, predictable or boring. Leaders do not get settled. They do not become complacent and do not accept the “same old same old.” Leadership is always new. Leadership is learning and growing in new ways. Honest, deep, authentic leadership is about knowing who you are and sharing your true self with the people around you. Leadership is about exploring, continuing to grow and learn. Leaders learn from each other, from other people they meet,... Read more
It is easy for me to get caught up in what I am doing. I forget about other people, other things I would like to do, other things I have done. I forget about the present moment, and become immersed in what I am doing. I forget about “Why?” I am doing it and become obsessed with “How?” It may be urgent, or it may be what I want to do. It may be significant, or it may be trivial.... Read more
Focus is a significant part of who I am. My strengths do not include being dramatically creative or coming up with innovative ideas. I tend to accomplish more things by persistently meeting my commitments than by finding amazing new approaches. My focus tends to be on getting results. I am more motivated by achieving something than by artistry, more inspired by tangible change than by grand theories. It is more important to me to get things done than to have... Read more
Strategic Monk
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In