William Deresiewicz’s essay entitled Solitude and Leadership, hosted on theamericanscholar.org, may have been the best piece I’ve read in quite a while. Well worth the time to make a focused, concentrated reading. Don’t scan the essay (not skim) even though the temptation is there since it’s on the Web.
I don’t claim to know squat about leadership, but I resonate with the need for concentrated reflection. Not just for leaders, but for all folks who want to be substantive achievers. At some point you really have to grapple with what you believe in preparation for defending your position.
How can you know that unless you’ve taken counsel with yourself in solitude? I started by noting that solitude and leadership would seem to be contradictory things. But it seems to me that solitude is the very essence of leadership. The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, even intensely lonely one. However many people you may consult, you are the one who has to make the hard decisions. And at such moments, all you really have is yourself.
I disagree with him, mainly on degree, in regards to electronic media. Carefully exposing yourself to the more emotional and fleeting aspects of the modern world can provide mental calisthenics. Yeah, the constant cell phone checking looking for new texts, or Tweets, or check-ins, or wall posts strikes me as pathetic. Reading with a critical eye the flotsam and jetsam of the Web can help sharpen your bullshit detectors though. Then again I earn my living by being steeped in the stuff.