A Note from the Road

Packing for a long overdue trip to Auckland for family and a bit of work. Board meeting on Monday, presenting at a conference on Tuesday, on leave on Wednesday and trying to relax. Taking money off people on the golf course tomorrow, well here’s hoping :-)

So I’m taking a pause this week—not because there’s nothing to say, but because there’s too much.

I’m working on something longer. Something about leadership, yes—but really about the scaffolding beneath it. The years spent learning independence too early. The richness of a life lived at pace. The disorienting gap between what you’ve built and what you can actually see when you look back.

I’ve been thinking about seasons. How leadership isn’t one thing, but many things across time. How the same person who thrives in a sprint can lose themselves in the long game. How success doesn’t always feel like success—especially when you’ve spent a lifetime moving toward the next thing before the last one sinks in.

So here’s my question for you, while I’m writing:

To lead or not to lead—is that even the question?

What if leadership isn’t a style you choose, but a posture you inhabit depending on the season, the context, the people? What if the real work is knowing when to lead, and how—and when to step back entirely?

I’d love to hear what you think. Drop a comment, hit reply, or just sit with it for a bit. I’ll be back soon with the longer piece.

Until then

A leader is best when people barely know they exist, when their work is done, their aim fulfilled, everyone will say: we did it ourselves. — Lao Tzu

Cheers Daz