Week #3 - Reading - The Art of Possibility Ch. 5-8

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander just may be the best reading I've ever  been assigned to do for a class.  It is the type of book I would choose to read for pleasure.  The stories are uplifting and delightful.  Reading it reminded me of many stories and experiences.

Chapter 5, Leading from Any Chair, reminded me of different people I have worked for over the years and their styles of leadership.  In high school and my early twenties I worked for very supportive people who wanted to teach me as much as I could absorb and take me as far as I could go.  My boss, Donna, one time told me she saw it as her job to help me get where I wanted to go professionally.  At the time I was in my mid twenties and did not realize how rare it was to have such a supportive supervisor.  In my thirties I quickly learned how to survive in an organization where a micromanager pitted employees against one another.  Reading chapter five made me think of the differences between these two extreme leadership styles.  I think the big difference was fear.  My first boss was confident in her abilities to do her job and had the support of her superiors.  The second boss was  insecure in her own ability to lead and it created a very unhealthy work environment.

Chapters 6 and 7, Rule No. 6 and The Way Things Are reminded me of the serenity prayers and two spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa.  The serenity prayer says help me to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.   The way things are looks at accepting what you cannot change and looking at circumstances you can change from a different angle.  I think we do take ourselves to seriously sometimes and it causes more friction than necessary.  The Dalai Lama says that everyone responds to kindness.  I have found this to be true dealing with students, staff, and parents in my 10 years teaching at-risk students.  If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives, be kind anyway.  This is one of the lines inscribed on Mother Theresa's wall at an orphanage in Calcutta.  I love it because it is simple.  Yes, if you show kindness people may think you have ulterior motives but be kind anyway.

The Kierkegaard quote at the beginning of Chapter 8 talked about possibility never disappointing.  For the first 40 years of my life I thought I was a pretty positive person but I put everyone else first and never dreamed big for myself.  I am at a crossroads in my life right now and this chapter reminded me to dreams big.  It got me wondering if the choices I think I have are really the only choices available to me. Are there bigger and better choices that are also possible?  The future looks bright when thinking about all the possibilities that could unfold.