Who's the Boss?
I work a lot. Most of the time I work sitting on an old brown leather sofa. It's the most comfortable piece of furniture I have owned. This is good because I work a lot, so I use it often. I use to have a chair that was my center of power, but then I got kids. The chair didn't give us enough space to allow me to work, and parent at the same time. I went looking for a sofa with my son. We found it at a warehouse sale at Marshall Fields. Do to the frantic nature of warehouse sales, I made him lay on it, while I corralled a salesperson. Twenty years later I can still see that little jellybean clinging to the sofa for all he was worth. It was delivered and quickly became the place where we worked, read, learned, and socialized. As my family grew, it anchored us, offering comfort and closeness. My son (the jellybean) is in his last year of college now, and the sofa sits looking a little worse for wear. I sit on it every morning, drink coffee, and get going on my day.
It was only most fitting that I sat there to survey a few objects and link them to the greater concept of leadership. I realize much of my thinking occurs in that space and place. The room is filled with a mixture of things we got travelling, books, plants(it's sunny), photos, dogs, and a random assortment of things we need to process. I am a visual person, so I need to be surrounded by objects to function. Everything I need to reflect on was close by. The orchid plant I saved from a dumpster, now thriving and ready to bloom. The skeletons that lay on my mantle, gathered from trips abroad. My book stacks(these can be found in any room in my house). A picture of my boys at some beach in Florida? Mexico? Jamaica? I don't recall. A black document holder that has seen the world with us. Finally my Chromebook. My Chromebook is my partner in crime. It's helping my with this right now. It connects me to the world.
What does all of this have to do with leadership? Well simply put, that sofa, my seat of power, allows me to think, plan, and do. That's what a leader does. It can be lonely some times, so the plant, skeletons, and books help. They provide focus, memory, and insight. A leader needs these things.
It was only most fitting that I sat there to survey a few objects and link them to the greater concept of leadership. I realize much of my thinking occurs in that space and place. The room is filled with a mixture of things we got travelling, books, plants(it's sunny), photos, dogs, and a random assortment of things we need to process. I am a visual person, so I need to be surrounded by objects to function. Everything I need to reflect on was close by. The orchid plant I saved from a dumpster, now thriving and ready to bloom. The skeletons that lay on my mantle, gathered from trips abroad. My book stacks(these can be found in any room in my house). A picture of my boys at some beach in Florida? Mexico? Jamaica? I don't recall. A black document holder that has seen the world with us. Finally my Chromebook. My Chromebook is my partner in crime. It's helping my with this right now. It connects me to the world.
What does all of this have to do with leadership? Well simply put, that sofa, my seat of power, allows me to think, plan, and do. That's what a leader does. It can be lonely some times, so the plant, skeletons, and books help. They provide focus, memory, and insight. A leader needs these things.