Tag: nature

Leadership and listening in to our surroundings

I recently received a new lesson in leadership from nature around me. I live in a city, and much of the world I experience daily is dominated and controlled by human beings, whether we spend our time in buildings, cars, or homes. We are “protected” by structures which give us the illusion of control. Rather than listening in to the wind, the rain, we feel more at ease when we can assert our wills and manipulate our environment. I had the good fortune to live in Canada, albeit in the city for many years. I will always be grateful for that time, which helped me connect with nature when entering the forest or sitting on the edge of a lake, listening into another realm, which is simply asking that we drop our baggage, as human beings, and surrender to a different sense of order and meaning.

When we come from urban centers into nature, we may be tempted to bring our cell phone. We may talk loudly to a friend that comes along. We may go by quickly, as we are used to busy city tempo. We can be totally oblivious to our surroundings. Yet, if we tune in to our environment, we will quickly be taken over by a different reality. We will hear birds and other noises like the wind through the leaves of a tree. We will naturally surrender to the presence of nature into a receptive state of openness and listening.

Should you allow yourself to be captivated and calmed by the energy of nature around you, you will notice that you are not leading your life so much as being led by the energy around you. You will discover that this leadership moving through you, originates from outside of you, and feels so much more connected to others and the planet. It is a different type of leadership that needs to be experienced rather than being taught in seminars. It honors our surroundings and our presence in a way that humbles human nature and moves us in a different direction than our own will, away from crumbling structures into a different sense of security.

Vulnerability in leadership

I love to watch trees in the autumn. It used to be I liked them most because of the colours, notably in Canada! However, with age I notice in forests around me how trees grow wider each passing year. I see the bark they shed regularly, as they outgrow these boundaries. I reflect on how nature shows us the way to grow personally by shedding our boundaries, our defenses, originally designed to protect us. The point is that what has once protected us becomes an impediment to our ability to expand and become our full potential.

We all need a layer of protection as we grow to face the many challenges in life. We all have a vulnerable core that needs defenses, so as to develop as grown-ups, and to heal when hurt. The delicate process of personal growth, however, requires that we soften and loosen up to shed those boundaries if we are to continuously grow. Many of us prefer to stay safe and start feeling constricted in our environment, not realizing that the constriction is actually imposed from within, from an inability to question the structures and the defense mechanisms we ourselves have put in place.

You may have decided as you age that life is less about you and more about others, from children to grandchildren and beyond. You may have chosen to become of service to your community and lead in some respect for the benefit of others. However, looking at the trees, this is less about shifting your focus to others, and more about becoming wider. It is not about disappearing yourself so much as becoming large enough to hold yourself and others. This requires an important process of questioning your defenses and softening to release the previous boundaries and grow so as to create a new space for yourself and others. This is about leadership in community building.