Closer to the Heart

And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mould a new reality
Closer to the Heart

So sang Geddy Lee back in the days when flares were cool. Did I mention to you that I’m going to see Rush next week? Only about a thousand times…yeah Ok – well I make no apology for mentioning it again. Rush are an anomaly in my musical sphere of interest and I believe I’m all the better for experiencing the “biggest cult band in the world”. Anyway, what have my musical perversions got to do with the world of work?

Please allow me to commit Rush heresy. I disagree with the above words. *faint*. Have you recovered from that shock? Good, then I’ll carry on.

I believe that men and woman in all places must be the ones who start to mould a new reality, closer to the heart. I believe this because I know many people who hold all kinds of places – high has nothing to do with it. I get annoyed when people slavishly say – you’ve got to get the buy in from the top. Is that distributive leadership? No – it’s command and control. And as we know – control is an illusion.

It’s a privilege to know you folks, a wholesome, humbling privilege. Together we will mould a new reality – and bring work closer to the heart. It’s a collective responsibility.

Take it away boys, take it away…

Author: Doug Shaw

Artist and Consultant. Embracing uncertainty, sketching myself into existence. Helping people do things differently, through an artistic lens.

2 thoughts on “Closer to the Heart”

  1. Oh yes! The ones who hold high places don’t need to be the ones to start. In fact they often aren’t but pick up on something they see working and expand it with their sponsorship. However…..

    We work in hierarchies where superiority & winning are the norm. Sounds horrible but it’s our human condition. The challenge is to work out which groups/tribes you are want to be in and whether you want to mould a new reality. Sounds fun to me!

  2. Hi David – thanks for your note. I like your observation about sponsoring existing working activity. I’ve not been aware of that often myself and it seems like a good way of helping to make stuff happen. I recall being part of a team whcih revamped the dreaded employee survey for a global company. That got the support of the group CEO which meant intereference from all kinds of places, and ultimately a pretty watered down revamp! Mind you I think that was sponsorship of something not working…

    Groups and tribes – now that’s got me thinking. We’re off camping this coming weekend – a tribal affair most definitely. I will observe in a different light.

    Cheers – Doug

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