Leadership is Like Halloween

Leadership is Like Halloween October 14, 2014

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Yes, there are treats and tricks. Yes, there are masks and costumes. The truths go deeper than that.

Halloween has strong cultural, historic, and spiritual roots entwined with some of our deepest fears. When I was a child, I understood Halloween as the day for collecting candy. As I grew up, I focused more on deciding what costume to wear and how best to celebrate. Some years there were parties, and some years I went to see scary movies.

None of these were the essence of Halloween. I was missing the point.

Halloween is a day about darkness and death. It marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the darkest part of the year. Halloween is a day to remember the people who have gone before us, laying the foundation for our lives.

Leadership has a lot in common with Halloween.

Many people get caught up in the parts of leadership that are easy to see. We know that leaders dress in certain ways and do certain things. We assume that leaders receive treats, and some can be tricky. It is easy to spend our time and effort focused on the thin crust of leadership on the surface. We celebrate that leadership and believe what the books and movies tell us about it.

It can be easy for us to miss the point of leadership.

The leaders who inspire me understand leadership is not about costumes, tricks, and treats. There is a depth and meaning to leadership we each discover in our own way.

The leaders who have helped me explore my own leadership inspire me to remove my masks, revealing the fire burning within me.

When does your leadership feel like Halloween?

How do you break through to the deep truths of leadership?

[Image by WxMom]


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