Leaders Provide Light
The Destruction of Pompei and Herculaneum by John Martin, 1822 (public domain - Wikipedia)
“Fire is a natural symbol of life and passion, though it is the one element in which nothing can actually live.”
Among all of mankind’s inventions or innovations, the most transformative was fire.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, thus granting us a status that no other living creatures enjoyed.
Fire served as a building block for society, allowing us to cook our food, be warmed during the colder seasons, and enjoy a source of light after the sun had set.
But it also acted as a negative force — a weapon of warfare and destruction, either intentionally or accidentally deployed.
That’s the strange nature of fire: both a giver and taker of life.
Fire sustains, but it also burns.
Fire reminds me of some advice I remember from an early mentor:
“When leading others, provide light, not heat.”
As your team develops, it might be tempting to shout and issue urgent demands, lighting a proverbial fire under them. But does that help?
It’ll certainly make them sweat as they feel the stress of the situation.
But what if you cleared an obstacle for them? Or give them a suggestion based on your own previous experience?
Your role as a leader is to provide light — not to do the work or browbeat them — but encourage and help them become self-sufficient on their way to success.
Imagine my surprise years later when I discovered that my mentor’s advice came from a Woodrow Wilson speech from 1916:
“One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty counsels. The thing to do is to supply light and not heat. There ought, if there is any heat at all, to be that warmth of the heart which makes every man thrust aside his own personal feelings, his own personal interests, and take thought of the welfare and benefit of others.”
It always serves us to lead from the heart.
To be in service to others as they learn and grow.
That’s the kind of light and heat we all need.
There’s so much to learn,
