Leader as Quilt Maker

Insights can come from very random places.  As I was reading for a qualitative research class today, the author's were comparing researchers to quilt makers.  This made me start thinking about connecting this concept to leaders.  Quilt makers take pieces of scraps and put them together to make a beautiful design and a functional piece.

Is that so different from what leaders do?  They bring together others with varying skills and experiences to accomplish a common outcome.  Putting followers in different roles, based on their interests and abilities, can create different "designs" (outcomes).  Sometimes what comes out is a "success" and other times, things don't go quite as planned.  But you learn from each experience and can apply those lessons to the next scenario (or quilt).  There is no one right way to create a quilt design nor is there one right way to lead.  Leadership is a creative outlet, as is quilt making and other outlets such as photography or writing.

The other aspect of quilt making that struck me as being similar to leadership is the amount of work that it takes to create a finished quilt.  When working by hand, the quilt takes time and effort to complete.  But this handwork also allows for group contribution and the creation of a community of quilters coming together to finish a piece.  Collaborative leadership provides for the same opportunities - people coming together to address an issue.

You could also look at quilts as representing the pieces of you as a leader. What do the pieces of your leadership quilt reflect about you?

Piecing it together...
Brenda

What Analogy Represents a Good Day?

I was talking with a friend today and we both acknowledged that we had had good, "geeky" kinds of days - learning new things that got us excited about the work we do.  As luck would have it, I was also trying to figure out how to find time to write more for me - including more regularly writing on this blog!  I mentioned this to my friend and he shared that he uses baseball analogies to reflect how his day was - good days were homeruns or doubles or something like that while bad days were pop flys, etc.  That made me start thinking about what analogy I would/could use to describe my days.

I first thought about car racing, NASCAR in particular. I'm a big fan and could certainly see several analogy options.  Good days could be like winning a race, having your first win by the Daytona 500; bad days could be a blown engine or a flat tire.

But that didn't feel quite right.  I thought about books, about teaching, about TV shows.  And then I realized what really reflected me was music.  Music has always been an important part of my life and typically reflects my mood. Good days are about upbeat music (think country music, Maroon 5, Brittany Spears, NKOTB/BSB kind of music).  Bad days are moody options like jazz and some classical.  Days when I need something simple, I listen to classical (and in my car, the 40's station on satellite radio).  And if it's been a really bad few days, I don't listen to music at all - that's how I know I'm in a slump and need to get it together.

What analogy would you use to reflect your days or your mood? Be creative with your ideas - and share them!