Have you ever watched a young child be fascinated by their shadow? I saw our 3-year-old grandson look quizzically at his the other day – those wonderful moments of innocent curiosity that we often lose with adulthood.
Our shadow is something that is always with us – in days of beautiful sunshine more distinct than on others, and always there – long, short, sharp, soft, sunlit or moonlit.
The phrase ‘shadow of a leader’ has much relevance today as when it originated a few years ago. It helped me realise the shadows cast by the sun or moon are not our only shadow –it is the impact that I create wherever I am – consciously, and most often, unconsciously. Our words create a shadow, so too do our actions, our mood, our thoughts, our mindset; what we pay attention to, what we don’t. We all understand what someone means when we hear ‘s/he cast a dark shadow over proceedings’.
However, the expression ‘shadow of a leader’ takes the concept to a much bigger, broader scale in terms of the impact we have. We are all leaders in some way and we are always creating impact– in our family, community, social groups, and in business and the organisations where we work or interact. Through our likes, dislikes, treatment of others, language and idioms, personal preferences, beliefs and values we can shape the characteristics, culture and ways of doing business in an organisation or any kind of system we are a part of.
It is not so much that leaders force their style and values on others (although this is the case with dictators and bullies), but that people naturally tend to look for clues as to what is important, how to get ahead in the organisation, and how to fit in.
We must be aware of this. How conscious are we of the shadows we cast? How intentional are we in our behaviour? Compassionate or edgy? Open or closed? Curious or opinionated? Peaceful or aggressive? Collaborative of fiercely independent? All will create an impact, all will create a shadow.
Recently I took a walk in the evening – I was walking into the setting sun. When I could go no further, I turned around and was taken aback at the length of my shadow stretching out in front of me. Make no mistake, we can create an immense impact that we are unconscious of unless we remain attentive and mindful.
A camera will always pick up shadows that the naked eye doesn’t ‘see’ – they are there but our wish to see an image in our version of reality has a way of filtering them out. I think sometimes we do the same with our own impact. Raising our personal awareness is key.
What shadow are you creating today? Which one do you want to cast?
Sarah Matthews June 2016
Sarah Matthews is a Director of Mobius Coaching and Development and owner of the Mobius Centre on Heir Island, West Cork.
