Here I am writing my first blog about leadership and how we show up on this journey. And, It is a journey I believe. And who am I to be telling you about it? We could start with the research … we know all the characteristics that are highly correlated to leadership effectiveness. But I prefer to tell a story … about my journey so far.

I’ve been thinking about those times, first thing in the morning, when you pass someone in the office and you hear that often asked, “how are you doing today?”. Or when we gather on zoom and there’s that opening exercise to “get present”. You likely know what I’m talking about, right? Now I place a high value on honesty and integrity but I have to admit, I can fudge a little on that one. My response has been, “doing great” when inside my response is “not so much!”

I want to share something that occurs to me about similarities between our roles as leaders and playing the fiddle. Let me tell you, playing the fiddle is not easy. That can be said of leadership as well. There’s an art to both.