The secret behind bold leadership... few people talk about it

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THE ART & SCIENCE OF LEADING SELF
The Power of Perspective 🖼️

My friend, Georgia O'Keeffe didn't just paint flowers. She transformed how we perceive them. 🌺 That’s leadership in action.

In her 1926 masterpiece The Black Iris, O'Keeffe magnifies a single iris so dramatically that it fills the entire canvas. What was once background becomes foreground. What seemed soft becomes bold. The familiar becomes extraordinary through deliberate focus and perspective.

This same principle applies directly to your leadership. Your perspective (what you choose to amplify and what you decide to minimize) shapes not just your experience but the reality of those you lead.

Mindset: The Frame Determines What Others See

Like O'Keeffe, effective leaders don't try to capture everything. They focus attention precisely where it matters most. 👁️

When O'Keeffe painted Black Iris, she didn't depict the entire garden. She made a bold choice about perspective that transformed how viewers experienced the subject. Your leadership mindset works the same way.

The mental frames you apply to challenges act as powerful filters that determine:

• What your team perceives as important

• Which solutions seem possible

• How setbacks are interpreted

Consider how different outcomes emerge when you frame a market shift as "threatening disruption" versus "emerging opportunity." Both frames are assessments (subjective interpretations), but each creates a vastly different experience for your team.

Courage: Reframing Requires Bold Vision

O'Keeffe's close-up compositions weren't just artistic choices. They were acts of courage that challenged conventions.

Art critics often viewed her magnified flowers as too intimate or even radical. Yet, she held her vision. She trusted her perspective when others didn't understand it yet.

Your leadership requires similar courage. When you reframe challenges in ways that challenge the status quo, you invite skepticism. Your courage isn't measured by grandiose declarations but by your willingness to:

• Put forth your perspective even when it's unpopular

• Invite others into a vision they can't yet see clearly

• Trust your instincts about what deserves focus

Resilience: Holding Contrast Creates Depth

Look closely at The Black Iris. The shadows aren't flaws. They create depth. Without them, the light loses meaning.

Resilient leadership follows this same principle. The tensions and contrasts in your organization aren't always problems to eliminate. In many cases, they're essential elements that create richness and possibility. Your ability to see this is shaped by your mental frames (mindset).

When you approach challenges like O'Keeffe approached her canvas, you develop the capacity to:

• Stay present in ambiguity

• Find meaning in complexity

• Transform apparent obstacles into dimensions of depth

Innovation: Composing New Ways of Seeing

O'Keeffe didn't just paint differently; she saw differently. This shift in perception is the essence of innovation.

By magnifying a single flower, O'Keeffe invited viewers to experience the familiar in revolutionary ways. She didn't invent new flowers; she transformed how we experience existing ones.

Your innovation as a leader works the same way:

• It isn't always about creating something entirely new

• Sometimes it's about recomposing the familiar into powerful new configurations

• It emerges when you challenge conventional viewpoints about what deserves attention

The most innovative leaders, like O'Keeffe, possess the ability to take what everyone else sees and frame it in ways that reveal unseen possibilities. They create space for their teams to step back from habitual viewpoints and experience challenges through fresh perspectives.

Thank you for indulging my love of art and the endless leadership insights it sparks for me. If this wasn’t your jam, definitely never go to a museum or on an art walk with me. 🤣

I leave you with this final question: What ordinary aspect of your business might become extraordinary through a deliberate shift in perspective? 🤔

FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
Putting It Into Practice

Your Leadership Canvas Practice 🎨

1. Select Your Frame: Choose one significant challenge you currently face. 🖼️

2. Shift Your Perspective: How might you "zoom in" on an overlooked aspect or "zoom out" to see broader patterns? 🔍

3. Create Your Composition: Ask yourself:

   • What am I magnifying in this situation? 🔎

   • What elements am I pushing to the margins? ↘️

   • Where am I creating contrast and balance? ☯️

   • What story emerges through what I emphasize or exclude? 📖

4. Invite Others In: Share your reframed perspective and invite your team to see from this new angle. 🤝

You are the artist of your leadership. What you choose to amplify shapes not just your experience but the reality of those around you. 🖌️

DEEPENING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Resources for You

🎨 Want to understand how visual thinking transforms leadership? This groundbreaking book shows you how. (Link)

🧠 This Psychology Today article explores how artistic thinking patterns can transform your approach to leadership challenges. (Link)

🔍 This insightful article examines how reframing problems leads to breakthrough innovation. (Link)

📺 Explore the concept of composition through this revolutionary documentary film that depicts the known universe. (Link)

🎭 This fascinating TED Talk examines how changing your perspective transforms leadership effectiveness. (Link)

🎯 Practical insights on what you can learn from artists to improve innovation. (Link)

EXCELLENCE UNBOUNDED
How I Can Help You

High-performing executive teams don’t happen by chance. They happen by design.

Aligned Senior Leaders Are:

✅ 1.9x more likely to achieve above-average financial performance
✅ 2.5x more likely to have satisfied and engaged employees

Aligned Companies Are:

✅ 58% faster revenue growth
✅ 72% more profitable

Misaligned companies underperform in the following ways:

❌ 50% lower ROIC
❌ 18% lower EBITDA
❌ 25% loss of revenue
❌ Reduced productivity
❌ Slower strategic execution

Book a call to learn more about The Executive Alignment Playbook 🚀, an immersive, experiential leadership program.

Realign your leadership team. Accelerate execution. Drive measurable results.

🎤 Speaking Engagements: My mom can attest to the fact that I LOVE to talk. 😂 Now, I put that talent to work delivering talks on Mindset, Courage, Resilience, & Innovation.

A few past clients include KraftHeinz, Amazon Women @ Payments, PAHEi, & the Panamá Chapter of the International Coaching Federation (I delivered this talk in Spanish).

If you are interested in having me speak at your event, please fill out this form.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD 📢

Until next Sunday,

Shawnette