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Shadow Work

Summer is not a season of shadow but it may be the perfect time to consider the shadow side of leadership. What are the challenges, obstacles, and blocks that we face as leaders? And, perhaps most important, what are those personal issues that leadership brings out in us?

Taking a good hard inventory of what is negative and difficult about leadership is no one's favorite task but it is a necessary one. And summer, when we often find our work life slower and more relaxed and when the weather is anything but shadowy, may be just the right time to set aside time to explore what holds us back, what keeps us from accomplishing all that we wish to accomplish.

Many of us would rather "accentuate the positive," as the old song goes and most of the time looking and building on what is good works best. But ignoring or hiding the shadow sides of ourselves and our organizations can be the best way to ensure failure of our missions. Those skeletons in our closets may do us a lot more good if they are dragged out, cleaned up, fed heartily, and put to good work.

In fact, it is possible to look at and reflect on what we have in the shadows and put those very things to work for us. As light casts a shadow, so every shadow comes with a light. We can capitalize on what we consider our worst, weakest, and most negative but to do it, we must take a good hard look at all of those skeletons to discover their potential for good.

Leading an organization or a group, working as catalyst and mapmaker can be a heady and exciting job but it is also one that carries a heavy burden of responsibility and the potential to create as much destruction as growth. Delving into our shadows can ensure that we emerge able to provide positive and creative leadership.

Do you have other questions on perspiration and leadership? Write your questions here and we will include them in future Helping Hands columns.