Leading Narratives

  A Grand Master and the Guardian shared the administration of a Zen monastery. One day, the Guardian died and a replacement had to be found. The Grand Master gathered together all the disciples in order to decide who would have the honor of working at his side. ‘I am going to set you a problem,’ said the Grand Master. ‘And the first one to solve that problem will be the new Guardian of the temple.’ Once this briefest of speeches was over, he placed a small stool in the middle of the room. On it stood a priceless porcelain vase containing a red rose. ‘There is the problem,’ said the Grand Master. The disciples looked in some perplexity at what was there before them: the rare, sophisticated designs on the porcelain vase and the elegance of the flower. What did it represent? What should they do? What did this enigma mean? After a few moments, one of the disciples got to his feet and looked at the master and at his fellow students. Then he walked resolutely over to the vase and threw ...

  A philosopher and his disciple were strolling through the forest discussing the importance of unexpected encounters. According to the philosopher, everything around us provides us with an opportunity to learn or to teach. At that moment, they passed the gate of a small farm which, although well situated, appeared to be extremely run down. ‘Just look at this place,’ said the disciple. ‘You’re quite right. What I learn from this is that many people live in Paradise, but are not even aware that they do and continue to live in the most miserable conditions.’ ‘I said learn and teach,’ retorted the philosopher. ‘It is never enough simply to notice what is going on, you must also find out the causes because we can only understand the world when we understand the causes.’ They knocked on the door and were received by the inhabitants: a couple and their three children, all dressed in ragged, dirty clothes. ‘You live in the middle of the forest with no shops anywhere around,’ said the phil...

Leaders can learn so much from the past! Here is some of what leaders read about in the April 2016 issue of The Coaching and Leadership Journal. Takeaways from How to Win Friends and Influence People  Leadership lessons of golf Inspirational stories about great leadership Paying coaches not to work Chris Mack’s interview How champions think The secret of effective motivation Ways toxic people poison even the best programs Kobe’s beef Motivation must go beyond words Notes from a SEAL Bo-time—The Late Bo Schembechler on team meetings Success can become a problem Lessons from the wizard And more!  Buy this issue ($15) Download a Sample Issue More Information on The Coaching and Leadership Journal