Your Leadership Shirt: Wool or Silk?

As August winds down and we start yearning for the more moderate weather of early fall my thoughts have turned to the leadership roles we play and how they could be compared to different kinds of clothing. But first is the acknowledgment that the activities and efforts that we categorize as "leadership" are just that: roles. Whether you are President of the United States, CEO of a Fortune 500 company or Den Leader of your son's Cub Scout pack that is just a part you have agreed to play for a certain period of time. My question: how closely identified with that role are you?

Here in Houston we don't wear much wool, even in the coldest winter months. It is a heavier, denser fiber and can be itchy. At one point in my life wearing wool even caused me to break out in hives! On the other hand, silk, also a natural fiber that "breathes", is lighter and softer on the skin.

Think of those two fibers as different ways of wearing your leadership roles, your command clothes so to speak! When we let ourselves become overly identified with a role, taking it and ourselves too seriously, over time it will get heavy, dense and probably even itchy. When we are wearing that heavy wool leadership suit we are too insulated from those we are leading (and serving). We get too involved in our own perception of ourselves and we start to cling to the role because we've become overly identified with it. The expectations we put on ourselves (though we usually blame others for having the expectations) become burdensome and we get even itchier! Not a pleasant, or effective way to lead, and certainly no way to go through life.

What if we viewed our leadership role as a silk suit instead? Delicate, light and easy to wear. So lightweight, in fact, that we hardly feel the pressure of it at all. It doesn't feel like acting, it feels like us! We are free to move and breathe and to relax into the role knowing that it doesn't define us and that we will wear it only as long as it is for the highest good of all. Though light in weight silk can still keep a person warm. And a leadership role, approached with the right intention, can also be a warming light to all.

So, silk or wool? You decide... but I'm no fan of scratching so I'll take silk.