Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Practice What You Believe

In his book Leadership Is An Art, Max DePree told a story about the belief and commitment of the noted English architect, Sir Christopher Wren. Wren once built a structure in London and his employers claimed that a certain span he had planned was too wide and insisted that he add another row of columns for support. Sir Christopher finally gave in and agreed. He added the row of columns, but left a space between them and the beams above.

“The worthies of London could not see this space from the ground. To this day, the beam has not sagged. The columns still stand firm, supporting nothing but Wren’s conviction.”

At the end of the day Leadership is about commitment.

Commitment to your beliefs, so much so that you will choose them over expedience when hard tests come.

Commitment to your people, to be honest with them, even when it isn’t easy.

Commitment to yourself, so that you will have confidence when others don’t.

Leadership is about all of these and more, but mostly it is about how you transfer what you believe into what you DO.

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