Punctuated Leadership
…
How do you
punctuate your leadership?
…
Are you a “.”
bringing work to an end
having the answer
knowing when to stop?
…
Are you a “,”
with just one more thing
creating lists
merely pausing but never stopping?
…
Are you a “@”
head bowed
in reverence to screen
streaming yet another email?
…
Are you a “!”
jumping around
shouting announcements
making declarations?
…
Are you a “()”
keeping things inside and together
keeping things out
building a silo?
…
Of course you’re not
a punctuation mark
but what mark
will your leadership leave?
Perhaps your answer
is exactly the punctuation needed.
This poem was inspired by Neil Postman, an education critic, who once wrote, “children enter school as question marks and leave as periods.”
Good question! I’ll go and ponder it.
The initial response is my leadership style focuses on the action verbs (plan, do, review, do), and the inclusive pronouns (we, us), and less on the punctuation at the end of the sentences.
Steve:
I think verbs and inclusive pronouns are more what “it is at” in leadership. Of course it never hurts to have a little punctuation. Thanks for the comment.
David