Clay in the Hands

Several days ago I received a courtesy letter from my eye doctor telling me it was time for my annual check-up.  Yesterday morning I decided I would attack my To Do list and get some quick “wins” by being able to check something off.  So I called the eye doctor to schedule an appointment – thinking it would surely be sometime late next week before I could actually get in.  Nope – they had an appointment for yesterday at 2:45.  I was already on the phone and committed so I took it.

I got there and filled out the usual paperwork and then was politely ushered back for the routine puff of air to the eye (Wow!  That’s fun!) and then on into an exam room.  The doctor came in and everything went like clockwork.  I even made it through all the:  “Better one . . . or two?  Three . . . or four,” routine pretty much unscathed.  But then came the dreaded question:  “When is the last time you had your eyes dilated?”  I tried to tell her it hadn’t been that long, but alas, she had my chart and could see it had been a number of years.  I had no excuse.  So five minutes later, there I sat with the eye drops in, waiting for my pupils to get to the size of frisbees.

Everything checked out fine, but the walk back to the office was excruciating.  I never noticed the sun being that bright!  Back in my office, I turned on a lamp and turned off the overhead lights and even the computer screen was too bright.  Couple that with the fact that I couldn’t focus my eyes and it made the rest of the afternoon a bit challenging.

Believe it or not, I have a reason for telling you this story.  Turns out that the reason one should allow an optometrist to dilate one’s eyes is to allow them to check the eyes for problems.  By forcing the pupil to dilate, the doctor is able to see what is really going on inside the eye.  The point is to determine how best to maintain good vision for the patient.

As I thought about it, I was reminded of a comment made in a book I am reading called, The Leadership Challenge.  One of the fundamental keys to good leadership is clarity.  As a leader, you must be clear about what needs to be done.  Part of that clarity is found by asking yourself the question, “What grabs me?”  Or another way of asking it is, “What fuels my passion?”  The answer to these questions can only be found when you look inside yourself and really think about what is going on inside you – the things that drive you and keep you up at night.

So just as the doctor dilated my eyes yesterday to see what was going on inside, I must spend some time looking inside myself and rekindling the spark that fuels my passion.  Only then can I lead from the heart and only then can I lead in a manner worthy of being followed.

Set aside some time to look inside yourself today!