What's the condition of your heart?

Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do.  The visible signs of artful leadership are expressed, ultimately, in its practice.  ~Max De Pree

In addition to having a number of Max De Pree's books on my shelf, I have a few loose connections to him.  So whenever I see something written by him, or about him, I'm intrigued to see what more I can learn, because I always learn a little more about leadership from Max.

This week it was an article I happened to stumble upon written by a university president back in 2000.  He wrote this about Max.

Several years ago Max De Pree came to speak to our university trustees.  Max, as most of you know, is a successful businessman and a prominent and wise voice on leadership.  The day after Max and Esther left, we received a call from the hotel manager where they had stayed.  This manager was amazed.  He said that Mr. De Pree had made a huge impact on his staff.  Everyone was talking about his kindness, about the generosity of his spirit.  This manager thanked me for sending this guest.  His staff would never be the same, he said. 

I want to learn better how to carry myself with the posture of Max De Pree.  Can we do this for each other, so that we experience the joy of love among us, but most of all can we do it to model grace and love for the world that desperately seeks a way out of its mean-spiritedness, its alienation, its viciousness?

This is probably not a comfortable question for any of us to answer, but when was the last time we stayed in a hotel and made such an impression that the manager had to call and thank someone for sending us to their hotel?  Well for me, never.

Not long ago I was at the doctor for a physical and was worried about the condition of my heart.  I was concerned for several reasons, one of which was an overly persuasive commercial that had convinced me I had atrial fibrillation or A-fib.  As I probed the doctor with more questions she could sense it was going to take more than a simple "you're fine" to win me over.  Finally, she replied, "If you had A-fib you would not have been able to come here today on your own effort."  Okay, got it! She had to show me that the visible signs were an expression of the condition of my heart, which really was just fine.

How we live our lives, day in and day out, is a visible expression of the condition of our heart.  Max simply stayed at a hotel.  He wasn't hired to provide leadership coaching or consulting, he wasn't sought out to give an inspiring speech to the hotel staff.  He just went about his ordinary routine, one that happened to be expressed through uncommon kindness, grace, and generosity of spirit. 

I may not have A-fib, but instead strive to have a condition of the heart that manifests in visible signs of another kind.  If the condition of my heart is truly filled with kindness and generosity, then I will see that expressed around me. The same way I would see my physical heart condition expressed in my physical capabilities.  Both are visible.  Both are very telling of the real condition of my heart.  

What’s the condition of your heart?