Leadership is Like the Flying Trapeze
Leadership is like being on the trapeze. For one thing, it can be helpful to have a safety net that can hold you. There will be times when your reach exceeds your grasp, and a safety net can make a real difference. It is important to try new approaches and explore new possibilities. A safety ...
Deep Conversation
I do not remember any truly deep conversations with my father. My father was someone who did not really trust the power of words. I have come to appreciate, since he died, that words could not express his deepest experiences or feelings. Both of my father’s parents had already died by the time he turned ...
Focused on Control
I rely on my ability to focus. During any given day, I focus my mind on reading, on listening, on writing. I focus effort on getting out of bed in the morning, making sure that the tea is exactly right, being on time, on walking without tripping. I tend to focus a lot on words. ...
Guest Post: Leadership is Climbing the Mountain
Matthew Cavanaugh is a friend of mine. I met him first through his wife, Laura Knowles Cavanaugh. Matthew enjoys doing many things I do, only in different places. He walks up the sides of mountains, while I usually walk on sidewalks. He goes out into nature to reflect on leadership and depth in nature, while ...
Depth Leaves Me Standing Still
Depth stops me in my tracks. There are people who seek experiences of depth. Some people meditate and some people go skydiving. They look for ways to connect with the Depth all around us and draw it into their everyday lives. Some people take pilgrimages to “thin” places, where there is very little boundary between ...
Coming into Focus
I come into focus one pixel at a time. One of the first things I do each morning is reach for my glasses. The brightness of the light hits me in the face, and I open each eye separately. Objects come into focus one at a time. Slowly, the familiar distinguishes itself from the comforting ...
Leadership is Refreshing
We are proud of the ways our leadership drains us. We have such important responsibilities, we are the indispensable piece that holds everything together, without us everything would fall apart. If we were to take a vacation, or even a break, they might never recover. Yet, the leaders who inspire me are refreshing. It is ...
Listening to the Deep Truths
We live our lives surrounded by an ocean of deep truths. There are times when the Depth and the truths intimidate us, and we hide from them. We distract ourselves by trying to show how important we are and what we have achieved on our own. We distract ourselves with things, toys, exotic experiences and ...
Focusing on Health
Growing up in the Midwest, health was a matter of what we could endure. We were healthy because we made it through a long cold winter, which builds character. As long as we did not break any bones or bleed very much, we were healthy. We were breathing, and we could keep going. Now I ...
Leadership is Learning to Dance
Leadership is learning to dance. Leaders develop a sense of the rhythms of life. They get all the partners making the right moves at the right time, choreographing controlled beauty. They glide across the floor, or they fly through the air, hands and feet working together to produce athletic artistry. Some people lead like ballet, with ...
