The Crescendo
When I look at this picture, I am back on Grandfather Mountain standing on the shallow apex just above The Attic Window. I remember my racing thoughts rhythmically synchronized to my heartbeat. I remember the smells of balsam fir intermingled with spruce and oak. I remember the crisp Blue Ridge breeze tickling my arms. I remember the magnificent autumn canvas that enveloped me. In the consequential moments when we make decisions that change the trajectory of our lives, we rarely forget the details.
Five months before this photo was taken, I had another moment like this—the moment that I decided to leave a decade-long, unhealthy relationship. The months that followed that decision were sometimes more difficult to overcome than the moments that led to it. Every single person I knew had an opinion about my decision. Many of them did not understand or support it. In many cases, four years later, we have not yet mended what was broken with my decision.
Standing above The Attic Window that day, I decided my divorce would not destroy or define me, but that what I learned from it would give shape to how I lived the rest of my life. The rhythmic synchronization of my thoughts and heartbeat was not fear. It was a crescendo in my journey.
On March 16, I posted this same picture with a quote by Anne Frank, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to the improve the world.” That day was another crescendo that had been building in intensity for months. I knew that I was not doing enough to improve the world, so I decided to change that. On March 16, I formally launched Crescent Leadership with the Vision of working with like-minded allies to restore the distinctive nature of leadership. Our Mission is to build enduring organizations through Leader-First Strategies™.
If you are reading this article, we have either worked together, gone to school together, you were in a class I taught, we learned about each other’s work over wine at a networking event, or we met over a workout or a hike and since have learned more about each other’s passions. You likely know that I am a bit stingy with the word, “Leader.” I don’t take leadership lightly.
Leader is not an entitlement that someone bestows upon you. It is an earned honor, and it must be earned again day after day. Leader is overused and misunderstood. Leaders are naturally curious and know that their leadership journey never ends. Leaders know that wellness matters, and that their physiological health is inherently linked to how well they lead others. Leaders do what is right, not what is expedient. Leaders are steady in the face of crisis, and fearless in the face of stagnation. Leaders see difference as the essential threads that weaves together the fabric of their extraordinary teams. Leaders embrace who they are and connect authentically. The personal mission of Leaders is to build more Leaders. At Crescent Leadership, this is our Manifesto and the theoretical underpinning of Leader-First™ Strategies.
Leader-First™ Strategies look first to the effect of leadership on cultivating conditions for enduring growth or reversing the foundational causes of stagnation or decline. Even though research and evidence have proven time and again that how Leaders lead and the type of culture they perpetuate will determine how well their teams perform, organizations continue to focus on short term wins, transactional solutions, and unsustainable tactics. At Crescent Leadership, we are committing to the long game with our clients—in the moments on either side of the crescendo.
Together, we can restore the distinctive nature of leadership.
Idealistic? Probably.
Impossible? No.
