The Day Cezanne Turned Leadership Upside Down

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Announcements:

Believe it or not today is the official release date of Becoming a Life Change Artist; 7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life. You can now actually order and receive a copy. Lots of credit goes to our amazing agent Joanne Wyckoff at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth. zshliterary.com. Thanks also to Esmond Harmworth for his initial encouragement. And thanks to our Penguin Avery Group team for all they have done. Lucia Watson, Miriam Rich, Lisa Johnson, Adenike Olanrewaju, Gordon Lindsay, Jessica Chun, Megan Newman, Bill Shinker. A Great Group!

All you folks in the environs of Denver, please join my Co-author Kathy Jordan at the Tattered Cover Bookstore, 7:30 p.m., August 12, Highland Ranch Location.

I am currently on a national radio interview tour over the next several days. This means I sit at my desk and get interviewed by radio stations around the country. These include: KLPW, "Lifestyle Matters"; KAHI, "The Mary Jane Popp Show"; KAAM, "The Breakfast Club"; WGET, "The Breakfast Nook"; WUML-FM, "It's Your Health Radio"; KEEL-AM "David McMillen Show"; Lifestyle Radio Network, "The Frankie Boyer Show"; WDEV-FM "True North Radio." Among others.

Please join me on August 10th at the Brookline Booksmith, Brookline at 7 pm for a talk and book signing.


The Day Cezanne Turned Leadership Upside Down

Several days ago I met a good friend Ellen Glanz for some ice tea. Since there were no seats available in the Starbucks we decided to take a walk. There are three things you should know about Ellen. She is incredibly bright and curious. She was born with a unique insightfulness gene. And she has a wonderfully uplifting smile. She's also an accomplished management consultant and photographer. And we never know where our conversations will take us. So maybe that's four or five things.

Our conversation turned to the subject of leadership and Ellen was curious how my involvement with art might have influenced my view of leadership so I told her about an experience I had which profoundly changed the way I look at leadership.

Several years ago I enrolled in a drawing class. I had not taken an art class since the seventh grade. My instructor was a very perceptive yet gruff critic. In the middle of my second class, he stopped in front of my work, folded his arms across his chest, and began shifting his eyes between my drawing surface and the model. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, his voice tinged with genuine puzzlement.

I explained that I was trying to render on the page what I saw with my eyes.

Well, it was as though I had lit a match to Vesuvius.

"No, no, no," he erupted. "Follow Cezanne. For you, Cezanne should be the beginning and end. You do not see in order to draw. Cezanne teaches us just the opposite. You draw in order to see! Drawing is a search. It is discovery. If you take anything from this class it is this: You do not see in order to draw, you draw in order to see!"

Cezanne Self Portrait

Now that was a mouthful. And totally liberating. Cezanne caused nothing less than a revolution in my understanding of drawing and art in general. You draw in order to discover. You learn through the process of drawing. In that moment I felt as though I had rediscovered art.

Now what does this have to do with leadership? Over the years I have had many discussions with individuals who aspired to grow as leaders. Many times, they ask: "What would you suggest I learn in order to be a better leader. I need to learn in order to lead." My response would often involve a combination of some reading suggestions, a call to become a keen observer of other leaders and the encouragement to seek new "stretch" assignments.

I still believe that is sound advice. But Cezanne has totally turned my thinking on its head. Now I share a different perspective. Cezanne advised that one does not see in order to draw; rather one draws in order to see. So now I humbly suggest that one does not learn in order to lead. Rather one leads in order to learn. I am not speaking here about technical learning--that's basic. I am talking about the deeper learning and insight that builds wisdom and contributes to one becoming a more effective leader. I am talking about modeling a new kind of leadership.

I'm not alone in thinking this way. Peter Drucker wrote eloquently about his belief that the leader of the future will not lead by knowing, especially since the complexity of today's world does not allow one person to know all things, but will lead by asking questions.

What is new for me in this, though, is the sequence and emphasis. For a long time I thought one needed to develop an area of expertise before assuming a leadership role. I realize now that there are at least two kinds of learning. The first is what might be called technical learning, the kind that is necessary to develop one's baseline competence. The other, and in many ways tougher, kind of learning might be referred to as leadership wisdom, and that only comes from a willingness to step into the unknown by doing, processing, reflecting, reintegrating--in other words, by constantly reinventing oneself through learning the lessons of leadership. This kind of learning is generative/regenerative and a source of self renewal for individuals and organizations. And it is a fundamentally creative process!!

This is why I believe Cezanne's understanding of drawing so profoundly mirrors a critical lesson for leaders today. Just as he suggested that one does not see in order to draw, but one draws in order to see--so too is it important that leaders do not learn in order to lead, but they lead in order to learn.

Ellen then brought me back to earth. She mentioned a few books I had not read and flashed her terrific smile. And then she said, "I really like these upside down walks. We never do know where the conversation will lead."

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